KH III: The Hidden Demons
by Artax Cooper
Summary: The faded battle between Light and Dark draws near. New threats challenge the Warriors of Light on their journeys to protect the worlds, free the lost hearts, and discover the true scheme to end the worlds. Will Sora, Riku, Kairi and their friends flourish, or will they succumb to the perils that lay within? Sound knowledge of Kingdom Hearts lore recommended.
1. A Dark Beginning

A chill rolled up Riku's spine causing him to stiffen up. Although the darkened cloak he wore seemed to cover his entire body, it did little in helping shield him from the cold wind.

The Black Coat was similar one he'd once worn when working with DiZ, but the three fairies had emblazoned a large silver crown to the center of its back and two smaller ones towards each of the wrists. He was wearing a black headband around his forehead, above his eyes, that draped down his shoulder past his short hair.

'Strange' Riku thought to himself as he shivered slightly. 'You'd think an empty and broken world like this one would be void of any sort of motion at all.'

It'd been nearly a year since he'd last been to The World That Never Was. The last he'd seen it, the world was collapsing as Xemnas turned the Organization's castle into a mechanical monstrosity. Now, all that remained was the remnants of old buildings that had been split apart and thrown about (some by Riku himself) and an enormous, all-encompassing pool of swirling black and purple darkness.

The world felt barren, yet it still clung onto reality somehow. Riku was quite surprised to have even located the dark path that had led him there. According to Mickey, he and Sora had once taken the route.

Riku had been there for over an hour and still felt great unease. Despite the world lasting as long as it had, the world felt as though it could collapse any minute leaving Riku trapped in a void between worlds. However, he knew this may be their best chance.

A familiar noise of a dark corridor opening came from behind Riku and he slowly turned to see a mouse about a quarter his size step out. The mouse wore a Black Coat same as Riku. His coat was formed around his large ears that protruded from the top of his head, only allowing his eyes, nose and mouth to be visible.

Riku walked up to the mouse and kneeled, extending his hand out.

"Mickey, it's good to see that you made it safe."

Mickey shook Riku's hand and smiled.

"Thanks Riku! I was just about to say the same thing. Have you found the spot you mentioned?"

Riku turned and gazed out into the swirling abyss before them.

"To be honest, Xemnas was the one who dragged Sora and I to the void last time. I would be lying if I gave you a definite answer."

"But you found a clue to it, yes?" Mickey insisted.

"I did."

"Huh Ha. Well then, let's at least go take a look."

Riku smiled and nodded.

...

The two weaved in and out of the debris of black and white shattered buildings before them, slowly working their way towards what looked like a break in the rubble. They came upon a large expanse where everything had been pushed apart to form a large, nearly empty circle. In the middle lay an enormous heap of silver metal.

"Wow. So that's what Sora meant by a 'Huge Silver Dragon' huh."

"Yeah. It made quite a blast when it landed here by the looks of it."

The two of them strode up to the pile of broken parts. Riku bent over and picked up what looked to be a bunch of silver metal plates that were chained together to form a piece of shoulder armor. The top plates created a golden spiked crown and below it was a large, round sphere that was completely white. Riku turned and handed it to Mickey. "Guess he simply tossed it aside after using it."

Mickey looked the object over and turned to Riku. "But how did you find his armor so quickly? . . . You weren't here for too much longer than me, right?"

Riku lifted his hand tapped the side of his nose with his finger. "It wreaks of his scent. "

Mickey looked down and brought his hand to his chin. He pondered for a moment before looking up.

"If this smells of Xemnas, does that mean that Xehanort himself produces the same dark odor?"

"I am almost certain of it. This scent of darkness also matches the one given off by Xehanort's Heartless as well, from what I remember."

Mickey closed his eyes and tried sniffing the metal. After a few tries, he gave up and turned back to Riku. He shook his head and handed the armor back to Riku.

Riku grinned. "I guess your nose isn't so sensitive to that stuff anymore huh. Lucky."

Mickey smiled then looked back to the piece of armor Riku was holding. "We should take it with us. I've seen these on Aqua, Terra and Ven. They're durable and I'd prefer to keep it out of Xehanort's possession."

"I don't think it would matter much, but I agree. Rather us have it than others." Riku said as he unzipped his coat. He lifted one arm out of it's sleeve and began to attempt to fashion it to his shoulder.

"Here, let me help." Mickey said as he leapt onto Riku's other shoulder. The two struggled with it for a bit before the last straps of the armor clicked together. The armor shimmered for a few seconds and shifted into place around Riku's shoulder-blade on its own.

"Woah!" Riku was surprised how comfortable it felt. "I thought the Organization would have recrafted this to fit on Xemnas, but it isn't loose on me at all."

Mickey hopped off Riku landing with a small puff of black dust. Mickey bent over and brushed the dust off the bottom of his coat.

"Well Riku, you are older now you know. Maybe you haven't paid much attention to it, but you've grown greatly since you left the islands."

This made Riku shift uncomfortably. He stared blankly at the ground in front of him, thinking back to a time when Sora, Kairi and he once lived blissfully at Destiny Islands. Visions of the days they spent running up and down the beachside, climbing the trees of the island, and dreaming of a world beyond their own flashed in his mind. He let out a sigh.

Mickey noticed his friends dazed look and shuffled in front of him. He tilted his head down towards the ground where Riku was looking. Mickey's ears shifting back and forth as slid into Riku's line of sight. "You okay Riku?"

Riku snapped back to reality. "Sorry, just a little distracted that's all. You ready to start trying to find the path we took to the Dark Margin?"

"Yup!" Mickey stated. He returned to an upright position as Riku tucked his arm back into the sleeve of his coat. "If we are going to find a corridor anywhere, it's around this spot. After all, this is near the location of you confronted Xemnas."

Riku nodded. "At that time, there was a direct link that brought us to dark shores. It stands to reason an entrance to the darkness may still be around. Even if we locked the keyhole to this world on our way out."

"Locked a keyhole to a world that shouldn't exist?"

"Ya, something like that . . ."

...

' _So what happens next Sora?'_

' _Please, don't call me that.'_

' _Stop fighting who you are and who you will be.'_

' _I'm not fighting what I am. I just don't want you referring to something I'm not.'_

' _Hmmm, have they finished preparations?'_

' _They extracted the rest of the inhabitants this morning, save the two of us.'_

' _Three*'_

' _Ya. You're right.'_

' _What do you think she wants with this place?'_

' _I don't know, but soon it won't matter what I think.'_

' _. . . Are . . . are you sure you're okay with this?'_

' _This is for those who need his help. I can't leave them continue to suffer.'_

' _But there could be another way! It doesn't have to be like this.'_

' _. . . It's not something I can explain. It's what I've experienced. There's no other way.'_

' _. . . I'll miss these shores.'_

' _They can always make a new one for you.'_

' _. . . But not one with you in it . . ."_

...

Mickey's ears twitched as he perked up listening to the howl of the wind. Riku stood close by, leaning against the nearby building debris with his arms crossed and eyes closed. They had been searching around the edge of the expanse for what felt like hours, but had found no traces of a corridor that could bring them to the Realm of Darkness.

Mickey strode up to Riku and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I'm not sure."

"I feel like if what we were looking for was near here, we would have found it by now." Riku sighed.

"I agree Riku, but I am going to stick to something Master Yensid once told me."

Raising an eyebrow, Riku looked at Mickey suspiciously. "And . . . what might that be?"

Mickey chuckled and said, "Patience is a virtue."

"Well, good thing we are on this mission then and not Sora, huh." Riku retorted causing the both of them to begin laughing.

Suddenly, a portion of the large pile of leftover Dragon parts shifted and collapsed inward revealing a large dark portal nearly twenty feet tall. This caused a loud clatter of metal scraping together.

Mickey and Riku both reacted to the noise spinning around and summoning their keyblades. Mickey, seeing no immediate threat, dismissed his weapon. Excited, he turned to Riku. "Wow! That was quick. Huh ha. Let's go!" He turned and began jogging towards the dark portal.

"Wait!" Riku felt that something was wrong. 'This corridor's entrance is nearly four times larger than usual. Nobody I've ever known would expend the energy to open a portal so large. So why would something like that appear so suddenly?' Keeping his weapon drawn, Riku ran after Mickey on his guard.

The wind picked up as the two neared the center of the open expanse where the enormous pile of mechanical dragon pieces lay. Riku smelt a dark, pungent odor emanating from the portal before them. As they closed in, the entrance stirred and a large dark figure shrouded in darkness erupted from the portal. The giant figure came out sprinting on all fours and charged Mickey and Riku.

Mickey reeled back in shock, but Riku reacted quickly and dove into Mickey, knocking the both of them aside of the charging beast. The two landed with a thud as the dark figure whipped past them, creating a vortex of wind behind it. The two had to grip the ground below them tightly as to not be sucked back.

"Woah! What is that!?"

"I don't know!" Riku had to shout over the wind whipping past them. "Whatever it is, I don't think it's friendly!"

The figure spun around to a stop before hitting any of the debris at the borders of the expanse. It saw the two keyblade masters on the ground unharmed and roared with distaste. Both tried to cover their ears to block out the deafening noise. Mickey, however, couldn't properly cover his ears. His eyes grew tired and he began to sway slightly before closing his eyes and passing out.

'Ut oh!' Riku thought as he noticed his friend's condition. "Mickey! You have to wake up!"

The figure clawed at the ground several times before charging again. Riku rose to his feet and grabbed Mickey. Just as the figure closed in, Riku leapt high into the air.

"Wind!" As Riku casted the spell, the figure flew past below him. However, on its way by, it raised its head and what looked like a horn smashed into the back of Riku's leg. The blow was enough to send Riku into a spiral, causing him to let go of Mickey. His momentum slowed quickly though and Riku regained his balance in the air just as he landed. He stumbled back from the blow to his leg but quickly casted Curaga to try to heal the wound.

The wind spell hit its mark, engulfing the figure in a blast of air. Strong as the blast was, it did not slow the figure. However, it did knock the unknown beast off course causing it to miss the pile of parts in the center of the expanse. The spell stripped the figure of the dark shroud surrounding it, revealing its true stature.

Across the expanse stood a large, bull-like creature about twenty feet tall at the ridge of its back. Its skin was black except for the two red lines that started from the bull's ears and followed along the bull's back to the tip of its tail. Its eyes we completely yellow and on its chest was a red symbol.

...

'A heartless. I knew it.' Riku thought. 'Ugh. Even after a curaga spell, my leg has not fully healed.'

The bull once again roared and clawed at the ground with its hooves, its eyes fixed on Riku. It reared back and charged once more.

'Tgh. If I try to jump, it will certainly clip me again. Magic hardly worked on it before. What to do?'

The bull picked up speed. Its head thrashed about in a mad fury.

Riku turned to see where Mickey had landed and saw he was nearly sixty feet behind him, still unconscious.

'I can't use reflect. The spell is curved and will cause this thing to just crash off the top or sides and probably trample Mickey."

Darkness began to swell in the expanse as the bull drew near.

'No time. I am just going to need to stop this the old fashion way. Slowing its momentum to a halt.'

"Force!" Riku yelled, casting the spell Graviga in an attempt to lower the bull's head to his level. It worked, bringing the bull's head closer to the ground, but not diminishing its speed. Riku turned the Road to Dawn vertically, gripping the hilt and placing his palm at the opposite end of the flattened blade. The bull continued to roar.

"Yaahhhhh!" Riku shouted as bull's forehead collided with the middle of his keyblade with a loud crash. Riku's feet dragged across the ground as he was being carried by the bull's momentum. With all his strength, Riku dug his feet into the ground below him, slowing the bull bit by bit.

The two continued towards the unconscious Mickey. Riku struggled, trying to slow the heartless in time.

'This should be enough.' Riku thought. "Stop!"

The spell of time's faded clock appeared in front of Riku over the bull's forehead causing the entire beast to freeze in place instantly. Riku's momentum continued to carry him back, upper body first. To compensate, he flipped backwards and landed on his two feet, wincing at the pain.

'Now's my chance!' Riku's blade darkened and began to leak a dark fluid. "It's over!"

Riku's jumped forward at blinding speed and cut through the heartless in one strike. Darkness poured from the side of the bull as the time spell's effect wore off. It collapsed giving one last grunt before disappearing into nothing but a dark mist that dissipated quickly and a large pink heart that disappeared into the dark sky above.

...

The dark aura falling from Riku's blade slowly disappeared, but Riku did not dismiss his blade. He stood, staring at the black corridor intensely. His adrenaline eventually slowed and the pain of his leg injury returned, causing him to wince and fall to one knee.

'That was close.' Riku thought to himself. He turned to see Mickey, still lying still. "Mickey."

Riku ran up beside the mouse and casted Curaga. The green aura briefly surrounded Mickey, healing the physical damage to his inner ears. Mickey's nose twitched and his eyes opened slightly. Riku relaxed and dismissed his keyblade, slumping to the ground next to Mickey.

"Wha . . . what happened?" Mickey asked.

"First, take this. Then we can talk." Riku handed Mickey a potion which Mickey drank quickly, reviving his senses of the world around him. Riku also drank a potion helping to subside most of the pain, but he still ached slightly.

Riku unzipped the bottom of his coat to better access his leg, which he began smoothly massaging. Mickey's eyes fluttered from Riku to the dark corridor ahead and back.

"Are you okay Riku?"

"No worries, it just nicked my leg that's all."

Mickey frowned, knowing Riku was probably lying to him, but decided to trust in his friend's words. "So, what was that thing?"

"A heartless, and a big one at that."

"It came out of that portal, didn't it?"

"That is correct." Riku got up and re-zipped his coat. "And I don't think that big heartless came here by accident."

Mickey tilted his head. "Why do you think that?"

Turning back to the Mickey, Riku motioned to the corridor. Confused, Mickey pointed to his nose but Riku shook his head.

"Much simpler than that. Look at the size of the portal. Who would exhaust the energy to open such a large path. It must have come through of its own accord."

"So why does that matter? Is it a problem that a larger heartless would come here?"

Riku looked at Micke, the teen's light blue eyes fixated on Mickey's dark pupils.

"Mickey . . . we locked the keyhole to this world. . ."

...

 _'Their fate is inevitable . . . The battle draws near despite the efforts of the light . . . The worlds will drown in darkness and the final lights will be snuffed out . . . The efforts to extend the age of separation has failed . . . You will return soon, my Master . . . And the one who hosts you will set you free.'_

...

"I don't get it though. What's so unorthodox about that?" Mickey asked.

"Why would a larger heartless expend so much effort to come here if the world's heart was sealed away. It feels like strange behavior."

"So, what are you implying?"

Riku closed his eyes for a moment and then shrugged. "I know it's the worst-case scenario, but maybe the keyhole was somehow unlocked and is drawing Heartless back to this world."

Mickey began to rub his chin. "I've never considered that. I just always thought that once the keyhole was locked, it was shut away for good."

"There was nothing about this in Xehanort's research we found at Hollow Bastion either." Riku knelt and extended his arm out, grabbing Mickey's shoulder. "Look, I know this just an idea, but something here is definitely wrong."

Mickey's face turned to one of worry. "So, what do you think we should do? If this were to be true and could happen in the other worlds, everyone would be in danger again!"

"Concerned about the safety of our friends back home?"

Mickey sighed. "I know Minnie and the others can handle themselves, but knowing that they still could be in danger is always unnerving. Especially now that they won't be expecting it."

Riku close his eyes took a deep breath, inhaling the cold air around him. A breeze blew portions of his hair across his face, partially covering his eyes. He stood up and turned from Mickey.

"You should go back and warn Master Yensid and the others. The worlds need to be ready if there's a new threat besides Xehanort."

"And what about you then, Riku?"

"Aqua is still trapped in the Realm of Darkness and this corridor likely leads there. A path was set before me, and I will continue on it." Turning back, Riku grinned and gave his chest a small bump with the side of his fist.

Mickey shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know Riku. The Realm of Darkness is a difficult place to navigate. Perhaps it would be better for me to go."

Riku shook his head but smiled. He knew he could always rely on his faithful friend Mickey. "Just trust me, it would be safer for me to confront the darkness. You now walk the path of light Mickey. Allow a wanderer along the road to dawn to handle this."

Doubt crept into the back of Mickey's mind. Images of Riku in Xehanort's Heartless' form flashed in his mind. His ears sunk as he gazed at the ground. But then, he looked up and smiled.

"Okay. I know you'll do great, pal."

"Thanks Mickey. This is goodbye for now. Until we see each other again, 'may your heart be your guiding key'."

Mickey bowed and repeated the statement as he watched Riku walk up to the dark corridor, stopping at the entrance. The dark portal swelled before him, emanating a malicious black odor that spiked Riku's senses into high alert. He turned back to Mickey who was still staring at Riku. Riku gave him a thumbs-up and turned to the door that lay before him. Then, alone, Riku stepped through the portal into the Realm of Darkness.


	2. A Hero Rekindled

Donald stood facing Sora with his staff in hand. The two were poised in an open field of luscious green grass that swayed in the slight breeze. A forest surrounded the field and off in the distance, a large lonely mountain towered over all.

Goofy, Hercules and Phil were nearby, surveying the two. It was about midday and the sun was bright, causing the grass to glisten and shimmer. All was calm.

"Are you wedy?" Donald called out to Sora.

Sora grinned and nodded, summoning his keyblade, the Kingdom Key.

"Okay. Tunda!" Donald raised his staff and a ball of lightning appeared almost instantly above Sora. It sparked and contorted for a mere moment, then came crashing down in a yellow bolt.

"Defense!" Sora shouted and a large, spherical barrier appeared around him. The bolt of lightning crashed off the top of the barrier and the energy of the barrier dispersed soon after, leaving Sora unharmed.

Without hesitating, the duck pointed his staff at Sora. "Fyre!" A ball of fire that was slightly smaller than himself burst forth from the tip of Donald's staff in a straight line.

"C'mon, at least give me a challenge." Sora mocked as he calmly pointed his blade at the fireball and casted a Blizzard spell. A chunk of ice about the same size as the fireball spawned in front of Sora's blade and shot forward. The two spells met and extinguished one other into nothing but a small puff of vapor. "Get a little more inventive could ya."

Donald snickered and twirled his staff in front of him. As he twirled the staff, large chunks of ice began forming around Sora in a circle. Sora pulled his blade in front of him in a horizontal motion and two large, intersecting rings of fire appeared around him, evaporating the chunks of ice into a large cloud of vapor.

The vapor around Sora was still for a moment, but then began to fly up at a rapid rate as a huge gust of wind began shooting up from beneath Sora. Sora looked down as the wind grew stronger, causing his hair to stand up straight. Sora reacted quickly, casting the spell of gravity on himself to keep him attached to the ground. After about two seconds, Donald released his wind spell and Sora buckled under the weight of his own continuous gravity spell, causing him to fall to one knee.

Just as Sora released his own spell, a hail of miniature rockets of various shapes and colors fell from above in a swarm of fiery fun. Sora rolled to the side barely managing to escape the first volley of rockets that pummeled the ground which he was previously standing on. A second volley, larger than the first, immediately appeared above Donald and began flying in Sora's direction again. The tip of Sora's keyblade began to glow and he lept into the air, aiming the tip of the blade in the direction of the incoming rockets.

"Ragnarok!" Sora shouted and several beams of light shot forth from the tip of his blade, each beam swerving left and right, crashing into all the rockets setting them of a safe distance from Sora.

Sora landed on the ground breathing heavily, eyes focused on Donald. "Hehe. You almost got me there. Guess I shouldn't taunt you too much."

Satisfied, Donald lowered his staff and proudly raised his chin. "Of course, I'm da King's rowal magishian afda all."

Phil turned to Goofy and motioned with his head. "Your turn." He said. Goofy nodded and began to hobble out towards Sora and Donald. "Hey kid! That's enough magic practice for now." Phil called out. "Time to see your skills with that blade."

Hearing this, Donald turned and jogged towards Hercules as Goofy took his place. Once Goofy was positioned a few feet in front of Sora, Phil raised his arm into the air. The goat-man looked at Goofy, then Sora before bringing his arm down and shouting "Goooo!".

Sora dashed forward and jumped into the air. Goofy readied himself, planting his feet firmly and raising his shield to cover his head. Sora gripped his keyblade with two hands and with a large amount of force, brought it down on Goofy's shield. The front, flat edge of Sora's blade collided with the shield, creating a loud clanging noise. Donald could feel the force of the collision from where he was standing.

Goofy stood firm, absorbing the impacts force through bending his knees and elbows. After stopping the blow, Goofy extended his arm, tossing a still airborne Sora back in the other direction. Sora twirled twice and landed on his feet. Immediately, he jumped forward, this time keeping close to the ground. He stopped in front of Goofy and began to jab at him with his keyblade.

Goofy parried each attack and then swung his shield at Sora. The edge of the round shield missed the side of Sora's head by a few inches and Goofy stumbled forward.

'An opening.' Sora thought and he lunged the tip of his blade at Goofy's midriff. Goofy expected this though and using his twisting momentum from his previous attack, began to spin, keeping his shield extended outwards. Sora wasn't prepared and barely managed to raise his blade in front of him to defend from the onslaught of blows from Goofy's shield.

Sora was forced back as he continued to reflect the shield with the middle of his keyblade. Goofy's twirling persisted for nearly five seconds until he tired and slowed to a stop. Surprisingly, none of the blows made contact with Sora's body. Goofy was dazed for a moment, allowing Sora to advance. With a few quick motions of his blade, he managed to knock Goofy's shield out of his hand, sending it flying towards Donald, Phil and Hercules.

Phil noticed this and panicked, stumbling to get behind Hercules. Hercules easily caught it and smiled. "Well, looks like Sora wins this bout."

…

Sora turned and gave a thumbs-up to Goofy, who was pressing his hand against his forehead. "Gawrsh Sora, looks like your practice has really been paying off."

Hearing this, Sora nodded and smiled. He'd been training hard since being instructed by Master Yensid to attempt to regain what power he'd lost. Sora was convinced Master Yensid had tipped them to head to the Olympus Coliseum and the group had been there ever since.

The group explained their goal to Phil and Hercules who happily agreed to assist their old friends, helping to accelerate Sora's training considerably.

"Alright. So why don't we try forms again before strength training." Hercules said as he handed Donald Goofy's shield and walked over towards Sora. Donald ran over to Goofy and handed him his shield.

Sora hesitated with a concerned look on his face. "Are you sure Hercules? I don't like putting you in danger every time we try this."

Hercules laughed and began to stretch his legs. "C'mon Sora. You know I'll be fine either way. Don't be nervous, just go for it. This is something really important after all."

"Okay . . . " Sora sighed then closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and brought his arms towards his chest. "Give me strength!" Sora's arms and legs extended and a blast of light erupted outward. The force of the blast knocked Phil over, causing him to tumble backwards in a ball of fur and horns.

Hercules resisted the blast and raised his arm in an attempt to shield his eyes from the light. He glanced over towards where Donald and Goofy once stood. For a moment, the two stood side-by-side looking at Sora, but then instantly vanished.

'Could this be it?' Hercules thought. 'According to Sora, this can be a good sign. He might just skip Valor and Wisdom form and enter straight into Master Form.'

The shining light that had been radiating from Sora vanished and a dark figure stood where he had been. The figure looked exactly like Sora, but was completely black with bright yellow eyes. It did not wield a keyblade and was oozing large amounts of dark matter.

'Again! Arg.' Hercules readied for battle. "Phil, heads up! It's Antiform!"

The dark form of Sora began pacing on all fours. Its eyes were focused on Hercules.

Hercules shifted in place uncomfortably. Even though he had seen this figure several times before, it still unnerved him to the core. He'd been to the Underworld, fought countless demons and monsters and even battled the ancient titans. Yet, facing the swirling mass of pure darkness before him produced an innate terror that he'd never really experienced previously.

The dark figure made very little noise besides the sounds of flowing darkness. Its presence alone made the atmosphere feel hollow and the sunlight that had once been abundant around them now appeared faded and gray. The grass lost its twinkle and color and the air felt colder.

After pacing back and forth a few times, the antiform advanced, quickly dashing forward. As it closed in on Hercules, Hercules prepared to block from the front. Once the distance between the two was less than ten feet, the antiform jumped. It froze in midair for a second, then swooped down in a fluid arcing motion down and around Hercules. Tendrils of darkness attached to the figure flapped around as it flew around Hercules' guard and swiped at his calves.

The slash hit and Hercules roared in pain. The antiform's onslaught didn't stop as it immediately spun around and lunged for Hercules' side. Hercules turned and threw a punch in the direction of the incoming figure. The antiform dodged under the punch and thrusted its hands into Hercules' side, sending him flying. The figure jumped after him and began to revolve rapidly around Hercules, jabbing him continuously.

Hercules fought, trying to bat off the shadowy figure but to no avail. The antiform brought its hands together and form a dark, swirling sphere of black and white. It thrusted the orb in the direction of Hercules and it expanded, sending dark and light energy scattering and ripping at Hercules. Hercules tumbled to the ground where Phil was waiting with open arms.

"I got ya! I got ya!" Phil chanted as he ran back and forth with his arms in the air, trying to figure out where Hercules would land.

After taking the blows, Hercules began to search the air as he fell towards the ground. The antiform was hovering nearby. It noticed his movement and began flying towards him. Thinking fast, Hercules spun to face the figure. This time, when the figure got close, Hercules managed to grab its arm and pull it in close. As they both fell closer and closer to the ground, Hercules positioned the antiform below him. Noticing this, Phil abandoned his campaign and ran off.

Hercules slammed the antiform into the ground, using it as cushion for his fall and crushing it a few feet into the dirt and grass. The darknesses power began to fade and slowly dissipated leaving a dazed Sora, Donald and Goofy lying in a circle.

Hercules stumbled back and fell on his rear. Panting, he smiled. "Hehe, glad that's over." He leaned back causing his back to collide with the ground as he passed out.

…

 _'I don't know how this is happening, but the worlds are no longer safe.'_

 _'Hmm. Never before have I seen something like this. It troubles me.'_

 _'What do you think we ought to do.'_

 _'Unfortunately, there is only one thing we can do. Attack the problem head on. Reseal them all. It will take all of our forces.'_

 _'But what if they aren't done training? Sure, Sora is experienced, but would you really turn to Lea and Kairi?'_

 _'What choice do we really have Mickey?'_

 _'We . . . we could turn to them.'_

 _'Mickey, do you understand what you are suggesting?'_

 _'I know it seems risky and probably won't work, but why not give it a try?'_

 _'Huh. Your faith is undeniable Mickey and the kindness of your heart knows no bounds, but this seems impossible.'_

 _'I once had faith in Riku, why couldn't they be the same? Besides, they would be well informed already about such matters.'_

 _'You truly are adamant. Very well, I will allow this. After all, no one would know better about their world's keyholes. But first, warn the others Mickey.'_

 _'Thank you Master! I will do my best.'_

 _'May your heart be your guiding key.'_

…

Hercules awoke with a start to Phil pouring water over his face.

"Get up sunshine, naptime is over."

Hercules gave the goat-man a look of frustration before propping himself up. He turned over to see Sora and crew hard at work. Donald was using a wind spell to hold a bunch of logs in the air while Sora was firing blasts of energy at all of them simultaneously with a strange contraption that he held. Goofy, however, was lying nearby napping.

Hercules got up and walked over just as the contraption folded in on itself back into Sora's normal keyblade. Sora turned to Hercules and smiled. "Glad to see you're okay!"

"Yeah, you threw me for a bit of a loop there. Still nothing new though huh."

"Well . . . no." Sora dismissed his blade and Donald lowered the logs gently to the ground. "I don't understand though. I mean, I haven't talked to the fairies in some time, but I'd assume the equipment itself should be fine. Yet, all I have been able to enter is Limit form. It's a little frustrating."

"Hmm . . . I think that the power never truly had to do with the clothing, but with the power of you and your friends around you." Hercules gestured towards Donald and Goofy. Donald had noticed Goofy sleeping and had shocked his friend with a small thunder spell to wake him up. Sora laughed as he watched an aggravated Donald begin to pester a groggy Goofy. "I believe you're right Hercules. Still, seems a bit strange. I wonder what's going on."

"So Sora, looks like your new Shot-lock is coming along huh." Phil said as a strutted over to the young man. "Still, I think it's a little too much. Needs work."

Slightly irritated, Sora bent over to Phil's level. "Oh yeh, what about it was wrong?"

"Two words kid. Way too flashy."

Hercules leaned over towards Sora and whispered, "I counted three words" causing Sora to giggle. Phil ignored this and continued. "I'm just sayin. I find it to be a little . . . excessive. I think you can aim some of those shots more effectively." Sora frowned, but then begin to grin maniacally.

"Hey Phil, maybe I can practice my aim on a smaller target." He said as he backed up and summoned his blade. He began to snicker, trying to look as evil as he could.

Phil did take a step back, but then stood his ground. "Kid, you couldn't scare a kitten with a look like that, let alone a tough guy like me."

Sora continued to try and look intimidating, but gave up quickly. He and the others began to laugh, much to Phil's inner relief. "Any who, Limits next young man. Step to it . . ." Just as Phil said that, he noticed a twinkle high above them. The twinkle grew into a consistent shining light that sped towards them. The silhouette of a Gummi Ship quickly formed and landed nearby.

The group jogged over to the ship as it opened and Mickey stepped out.

"King Mickey!" Sora, Donald and Goofy all shouted at once as they ran up to him giving him a big group hug.

"Huh ha! Hey fella's! Nice to see everyone is doing well." They all separated.

"Watt bwings you here your madjesty?" Donald inquired.

Goofy scratched the side of his head, almost knocking his hat off. "Yah, I thoughts you were lookins for Aqua."

Mickey looked back and forth to each member of the group before he began speaking. "I . . . have a few things I need to talk to you guys about. Let's walk."

…

' _It appears an old friend of mine is on his way now. Best stick close to you should I also wish to escape.'_

' _Why's that?'_

' _I'm no savior of light, but rather, a servant of the worlds. One such as I often sponsors routes of light and dark, blending the two as needed. At least, from what I can remember of my past transgressions.'_

' _What does that have to do with your escape?'_

' _He'll find you no doubt. He's never failed to find the purest of lights in the darkest places. It's only a factor of time and for me, it will be a factor of principle.'_

' _You believe he won't bring you back with us if he can?'_

' _Perhaps. Maybe I've done enough and ought to stay hidden. Why risk one such as I obtaining freedom, only to harm those around me more.'_

' _But from how I see it, you favored light.'_

' _What I favored was my own selfish desires, which has lead me here.'_

' _They'd have found the clues. You've done more than you know.'_

' _. . . I'm glad someone sees it that way.'_

…

The group had left the open field and weaved through the thicket forest as Mickey explained what he and Riku discovered in the World that Never Was, the heartless they'd encountered and Riku's decision. The entire time, Sora and the gang listened intently. All except Phil, who was too busy looking around the area for earth nymphs.

They came upon a large expanse of shallow water connected to a waterfall. Hercules was on guard as he'd once confronted the River Guardian Nessus there before. When he mentioned it, Goofy and Donald dropped back and began to query Hercules about the story. Hercules began to elaborate but Mickey and Sora continued.

"So that's it then? Riku's alone in the Realm of Darkness?"

"Most likely."

"Why would he be so reckless Mickey? Even if this is a new huge threat, I still think it would've been safer for you to join him. No one knows the dark realm better than you." Sora never really spoke to the king in a non-cordial manner, but he was too concerned for the safety of his friend to notice.

"Riku insisted and I chose to follow his lead. He knows what he's doing and understands the risks."

"It's just . . . ugh." Sora complained and he summoned his keyblade, jamming it into the water nearby, freezing the entire river and over half the waterfall within seconds. Pulling the blade out, he walked out onto the ice as he continued talking. "I know Riku is a master, but he isn't being himself."

Mickey tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"When we faced Xemnas, we faced him as a team. As a group, we had strength and together, he and I overcame Xemnas." Sora tapped the ice with the tip of his blade lightly. "But since taking his test, Riku is taking on more and more challenges on his own. He's losing sight of the strength in his friends just like before." This time, Sora hit the ice in front of him a little harder causing it to crack into multiple pieces that slowly drifted apart.

"It sounds to me like you still think he is weak to the darkness around him Sora. I believe you're overthinking it."

"No, it's not really that . . . I don't know how to put it. He's just, taking risks he ought not to be. He should've sought help to ensure his safety too, that's all. Maybe you can still send us there and we can make it through the corridor in time to help him out."

Mickey shook his head. "Not possible."

Sora's dark blue eyes locked with Mickey's. "Why not? I know how to get there and I can find the corridor easily as well."

"Two reasons Sora. One, we need you here to help protect the worlds from the new threat I discovered."

"And two?"

"Two." Mickey summoned his own blade, Kingdom Key D, and raised it high. In a puff of icy dust, the river and waterfall unfroze, causing Sora to drop slightly into a few inches of water, which didn't seem to bother him. Mickey lowered his blade, pointing it at the water. "The World that Never Was collapsed to darkness."

"What?" Sora's face grew long with concern. He stepped forward and out of the water towards Mickey.

"The world is just gone. I needed to investigate the keyhole to see if it had been unlocked. It's just as Riku predicted, the keyhole was unlocked. I tried to reseal it, but corridors began appearing everywhere. Dark figures began to fill the area, crashing into the mounds of building parts and ripping at the fabrics of the world."

"Too many for you to handle?"

Mickey nodded. "I barely got out. All I could see were several of them surrounding the keyhole. Then, there was a blast the world began sucking into one giant orb of darkness. I sprinted through the corridor to the digital twilight town and the corridor disappeared behind me. I can only assume the world has fallen."

"So Riku is stuck in the Realm of Darkness, same as Aqua?"

Regrettably, Mickey nodded and began to stare at the ground. "Riku is a master of the darkness, and we have our plan for them to escape. I have no doubt he'll succeed."

". . . Yeah, You're right." Sora said, patting Mickey's shoulder. "I too have faith in my best friend, he'll be fine. So, is that all."

Relieved to hear Sora's confidence, Mickey's ears perked up in a gleeful tone. "Nope, Master Yensid gave me one more task. I have to find . . ."

Just as he said this, there was a loud crash that came from the enormous mountain beyond them. All eyes darted towards the mountain as they could see boulders falling down the side of the mountain. Sora scanned the mountain up and down until his eyes came to rest upon a small robed figure in the distance at the base of the mountain. He may have been far off, but Sora knew who it was.

"Hades . . ."


	3. A Misty Burden

'Well, this doesn't feel right.' Riku thought to himself after stepping through the corridor into the Realm of Darkness. He stood in the middle of a poorly lit expanse of black and purple rocks that lined the area on either side of him. Most were jagged and sharp, but it was flat where Riku stood, forming an obvious path.

'I'm definitely in the dark realm . . . but this isn't where I expected to appear that's for sure.'

Riku looked around, trying to find some form of life or light. However, everything stood still. It was quiet, but off in the distance he could hear a low rumble. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Riku pulled his hood over his head. He felt lonely and empty. After calming himself though, he felt light in the distance.

'It's very faint, but I can sense it. In a place like this, even the smallest amount acts as a huge beacon. Well, better get moving.' Riku began to walk along the path, sure of his direction and far more confident than before. 'I can sense your light, Aqua.'

…

Riku had been walking for what felt like forever. Every step, the darkness around him thickened. Its pressure coated Riku, making the air feel heavy and pungent. It got to the point where Riku could no longer see anything besides his own light, slightly radiating to allow him to see himself and a small area around him.

The feeling of light ahead was warm, but the darkness around him continued to smother its presence and trap Riku. 'So long as Aqua is here, I have a marker and destination at the very least.' Just as he said this, the feeling of light briefly vanished and reappeared in a quick flicker. 'What was that?'

Riku concentrated and determined that the feeling of light was still there and hadn't changed. However, as he stood quietly, he could sense another presence. Riku could make out the sounds of something stepping not far ahead of him, moving across the path. 'Whatever is up there must've blocked the sensation of light for a moment.' Not wanting to provoke an attack, Riku froze, doing his best to breathe quietly.

For a moment, the footsteps stopped and Riku's heart skipped a beat. He still couldn't see, but he could tell that whatever it was looking in his direction. 'C'mon. Keep moving.' The footsteps began again and Riku let out a sigh of relief. However, Riku noticed that the footsteps were growing closer, and louder.

'Ut-oh, it's heading straight for me. . . Maybe it'll pass by me.' As if answering his question, the footsteps indicated that whatever was approaching was picking up speed. 'This is bad!' Riku's right shoulder began to vibrate slightly. His heart was beating at a rapid rate and he started to sweat a bit. 'Guess I don't have a choice. I'll have to fight.' With that, Riku could feel his body getting ramped. His blood flow increased and he instinctively summoned his blade. The footsteps continued to grow closer and closer. Riku prepared himself to use magic when his blade began leaking a fluid. It quickly coated his blade and Riku could feel the excess falling off onto his feet before fading away.

The footsteps came to an abrupt halt and Riku held his breath. A few moments of silence passed by and then the slow footsteps resumed, heading off the path and into the darkness beyond. Once the sound had completely disappeared, Riku's tension relaxed. He held up his blade and with his free hand, began to rub the blade, trying to feel for the substance that had been coating his blade. Riku managed to cup a bit of it in his hand before it quickly faded away. The rest that was on the blade soon followed suit.

'What the, what was that?' Riku continued to try and rub his blade in an effort to find more of the substance but to no avail. Realizing nothing was left, he dismissed the Way to Dawn and continued on his path towards the light.

…

'Why didn't that thing attack me? I mean, sure maybe not all dark beings are violent but that was just strange.' Riku thought to himself as he continued down the dark trail. He continued to ponder on his thoughts as the trail before him began to slowly brighten up.

His surroundings were still that of sharp rocks and darkness, but at least he could once again see. 'If only it were this bright not long ago.' He thought as he continued to ponder what had happened. Eventually, the path looked like it ended ahead of him with what looked like a large drop which he could just make out.

Riku approached the edge of the trail cautiously and peered over the edge. Just like he'd thought, he was standing at the edge of a cliff. The drop looked long, but Riku could see the bottom. The drop traversed to a large hole in the ground that led to what seemed to be an area of color. This surprised Riku as he'd assumed that the entire realm was nothing but darkness. Sensing that he could follow the path down to continue heading towards the light, he jumped off the edge of the cliff, his cloak flapping around him.

…

' _Urgh. The nerve of that little mouse. As if I can be bought so easily.'_

' _I don't know. Seems like a pretty good deal for your plans.'_

' _True. My desire for that world is insatiable.'_

' _But I don't get it, why da ya want dat that book so desperately now?'_

' _I am never desperate! I am Queen over all! But, that book does hold the key to its location. It reeked of its scent upon my exit.'_

' _So what does that say about the kid then?'_

' _Not all his passengers are harbingers of light.'_

…

Riku landed on both feet, wincing slightly at his still partially injured leg. 'Hope that heals soon.' Riku looked up and began turning slowly, surveying his surroundings. He stood in the middle of a well-lit room contained a vast assortment of stone architecture and mirrors in every direction. He was completely alone and the sound of his breath echoed through the room. The scent of light felt strong here so Riku decided to walk around and inspect the area for signs of Aqua.

As he walked by each mirror, Riku looked at each reflection of himself. He thought back to what Mickey had said about him growing up and upon further inspection, agreed with Mickey. He looked much older than what he had before his adventure to other worlds began. His height had increased, his face had developed further and he gained a significant more amount of muscle.

Riku was thinking about this when he noticed something strange as he passed one of the mirrors. He spun around and walked back in front of the mirror to survey the reflection. He gasped slightly when he realized that the reflection in front of him wasn't his own.

Before him in the mirror stood a young woman not much shorter than him. She had long blue hair, dark blue eyes and was garnered in gray, black and blue clothing. Riku leaned closer to get a better look. She held a black and gray keyblade and white tassels hung around her waist. Her face would have appeared soft, except she was staring back at Riku frowning. When he noticed her eyes were on him, Riku jumped back slightly.

"Aqua! Is that you?!"

The figure stood quietly staring at him. When Riku took to steps to the left, her eyes followed him intently. Not wanting to give up, Riku pressed his hand against the mirror.

"Aqua! I'm a friend! My name's Riku and I'm close friends with King Mickey!" Riku kept trying to get the figures attention, but to no avail. Then, the figure shifted slightly. Riku watched as it swirled and morphed, changing color and size until it resembled himself, cloak and all. "What?" Riku tried to pull back but the figure's hand shot out of the mirror, grabbing Riku's coat and pulling him towards the mirror. Riku expected to smash into the mirror and braced for impact, but he instead fazed through easily and a bright light blinded him.

…

Riku opened his eyes and found himself standing in a strange area of swirling colors of light. The ground around him was flat, but appeared to be surging with energy that flew in various directions. He stood alone for a moment, surveying his surroundings, until shimmering dust began to appear in front of him. The dust swirled in a circle and in a flash, merged into a figure that mimicked Riku's appearance.

Riku frowned and summoned the Way to Dawn. "Who are you?"

The figure stood still, looking straight at Riku with a blank stare. Then, it spoke in a direct, emotionless fashion, "I am your reflection. Your true self."

Riku looked the figure up and down, noticing its precise resemblance to his own appearance, briefly reminding him of his replica from Castle Oblivion. "Why have you brought me here?"

The figure remained silent for a few moments. Then, it spoke with a far darker tone than it had previously. "You are afraid Riku."

"What?" Riku said, looking shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"Your friends of course. Can you really trust them with the fate of the worlds?"

Riku continued to stare at the figure, puzzled. "I don't understand what you mean."

"Of course you do. Your friends are too fragile. Without you, where would they be now? Most asleep, some lost to darkness and this leaves you with fear. You're afraid that they cannot protect themselves."

"What? You're wrong! Sora and the others . . . "

"Ha! Sora is the most vulnerable of them all. Especially now more than ever. He's powerless to the darkness that resides within him. He can't control it and it will lead to the doom of you all."

Riku sneered and pointed in keyblade in the direction of the figure. "Shut Up!"

"I am you and you are me. We can only rely on the power of each other, Riku. Accept that."

"Enough! I won't abandon my faith in my friends!" Riku shouted before leaping forward towards the figure. "Heya!"

…

' _Wow, never thought I'd see you amongst our ranks. Thought Sora did you in for good.'_

' _Clearly you were wrong.'_

' _So, I'm to assume your little coup d'etat was not nothing more than some poor attempt to rebel against your destiny.'_

' _I don't think I am who you think I am.'_

' _Whatever. I guess it's not really my concern any who. You're just another cloak now anyway.'_

' _Heh. Not quite.'_

' _Sure, that's what you think, but in the grand scheme of things, what will it matter. Your role is just one of many, so I wouldn't take it so seriously.'_

' _. . .'_

' _Not quick to temper huh? You're an interesting one, that's for sure.'_

…

Riku was panting heavily. Several bouts with his reflective counterpart had left him in an exhausted state. The figure, in contrast, showed no signs of fatigue. However, portions of its image had been stripped away like broken glass, leaving Riku to look at a sharp, flickering, unfinished version of himself.

"What great strength, my other self. Your power is immense even on your own." Even the figure's voice felt shattered, incomplete, like walking on shards of glass.

Still panting, Riku managed to speak softly. "I told you . . . to shut up."

The figure broke into a smile. "But Riku, you know you can only rely on yourself. That's why you entered the realm of Darkness on your own. Your actions betray your true feelings."

"Stop trying to trick me. I won't be fooled by the darkness again."

The figures smiled faded and he floated forward slightly (as one of his legs was a part that was missing) to get closer to Riku so he could speak softly. "Riku, I don't have to fool you. These are your thoughts. Conceptions that lay deep within you. I am simply reflecting your inner-most self."

"You . . ." Riku coughs. "You're just like Ansem."

"No Riku, I'm just like you." The figure began laughing with a crooked smile.

Frustrated, Riku casted a Blizzaga spell at the figure, causing a portion of the figure's face to be blown off by a giant ball of ice. The portion that fell off fell to the ground and shattered like glass, disappearing into nothing. However, the figure continued to laugh, mocking Riku.

Riku leapt high into the air, hovering for a moment above the figure. Then, he spun twice. Shouting "Freeze Dive!", Riku thrusted his keyblade toward the ground, gaining him falling momentum. Just as he approached the ground where his Reflection was standing, he flipped once and cut through the figure with his keyblade.

Upon contact with the slash, the figure was encased fully in a block of ice behind Riku. Riku landed safely, bending his knees to absorb the impact of the fall. Riku rose slowly, staring at the ground in front of him. Behind him, he could sense the remaining eye of the figure swivel to focus on him. Its voice was dark and piercing.

"Your trust in your friends will be your fall. Their flaws make them inadequate to be guardians of light. Especially he who hosts the Master's Hear. . ."

Not wanting to hear anymore, Riku thrust his blade behind him, causing the entire ice sculpture to explode into tiny pieces that faded away. The room began to glow, light shining from below him. Although the room was rumbling, only one thought gripped his mind.

'Is that how I really feel?'

…

The floor let out beneath Riku, causing him to start to free fall. He abandoned his thoughts of doubt to survey his now changing surroundings. He couldn't see where he was plummeting to, and the further he fell, the less the light persisted until it nearly vanished altogether. Just before his whole surroundings turned to black, he saw another room approaching below him. Riku twisted to ensure he'd land on his feet, but instead found that he slowed to a gentle stop right above the floor of the room, dropping softly to the floor. After landing, Riku tightened his headband as he began to walk and look around the room.

Riku found he was standing in a large square room with various beams and poles lining the sides of the bronze walls and around the high ceiling above him. The floor below him was constructed of silver tiles that glinted brown from the surrounding bronze walls. In one corner of the room, there was a staircase that seemed to lead to the floor below. Above him was an enormous bell that matched the color of the beams around it.

After surveying most of the area, Riku stopped in front of one of the walls to inspect it. The wall itself looked like the inside of an enormous silver clock. It was highly detailed, the metal of the Roman numbers and the hands twisted and twirled forming intricate wave-like patterns of design. After waiting for over a minute, Riku noted that neither hand had changed its position.

'The Realm of Darkness never ceases to amaze me.' Riku thought. 'A darkened path, a room of mirrors and now I'm in some kind of broken clock tower. Where to next, a field of flowers?' Riku sighed. 'If only.'

While Riku muddled over his thoughts, tendrils of darkness began to slowly seep out of the walls and creeped towards Riku, who stood in the middle of the room. They stayed low to the ground, blending in with the bronze darkened floor. Just as they closed in around Riku, he felt his shoulder vibrating violently and spun around, summoning the Way to Dawn. However, the tendrils rapidly attacked all at once, grabbing and restraining Riku in place.

Riku struggled against the tendrils to no avail. He could hear a ringing noise begin that continued to increase in power and tone. Various thoughts and memories began to flash within his mind. Visions of dark waters dragging him away from Sora and their island appeared briefly.

The hands of the clock in front of him slowly began to turn and accelerate till they were spinning in opposite directions at a rapid rate, creating a vortex of wind in Riku's direction. The bell above him began to crash, causing the room to vibrate to every bang. Pictures of a younger, limp Kairi clipped throughout his mind.

The ringing continued to increase. The combination of the bell and ringing deafened Riku to his own yells of struggle. Memories of seeing Sora within his sleeping pod and of Sora sleeping in Yensid's tower swirled through Riku's thoughts as he tried desperately to hold onto his grasp of reality.

The tendrils tightened their grip and began to pull his limbs in different directions. Sora under Xehanort's spell, Mickey's tattered state from the bull Heartless, Sora's loss of power, Riku was being overwhelmed by memories being forced out of him.

Everything was shaking immensely. Riku felt as though he would pass out. Then suddenly, his mind stood still.

He was floating in a pitch-black area. His hair bobbed slightly as his floating caused him to slightly ungulate up and down. The intense shock of his previous situation was no longer present and everything was silent. He turned left and right, looking for anything besides the dark abyss that surrounded him. Riku's eyes eventually rested on a large group of figures not far from him. Excited, Riku floated over, calling out their names one-by-one as they came into view.

"Mickey! Donald! Goofy!"

The expression on their faces were blank, but their eyes were all focused on Riku.

"Kairi! Sora!"

All the figures extended their hands towards him and Riku too reached for them. Just as Riku could nearly grab the hands of the Sora and Kairi figures, they were pulled out of reach at the same speed he was moving. Riku continued to reach and reach, but the black abyss began to pull his friends further and further from him.

"Please! I can protect you!" Riku sensed the dark beginning to swallow the figures. His friends disappeared one-by-one until only Sora remained. In the figure's extended hand appeared a keyblade which he pointed towards Riku. He grinned and in a monotone voice said, "Don't worry. I can handle it without you." The Sora then closed his eyes and became shrouded in darkness.

"Nooo!" Riku shouted, continuing to try and crawl to the previous location of his friends. The noise and commotion of before began to return in great force, eventually snapping him back into the reality of the clock tower's madness. His heart was beating heavily with every clash of the bell. He struggled to breath under the high winds of the spinning hands of the clock. The ringing prevented him from thinking clearly and the dark tendrils held him in place.

Riku slowly turned his head to his hand which was still gripping his keyblade tightly. He gradually was able to turn his wrist so the blade pointed to the sky. "Stop!" Riku struggled to cast the spell. Above him appeared an enormous, energy lit clock. The bell froze mid swing, the hands of the clock stopped at exactly XII, the ringing stopped and the tendrils stopped their pulling.

Riku took a deep breath and pulled against the tendrils. The stopped time allowed him to easily escape their grasp and he hopped to the floor. He began rubbing his sore wrists while walking to the staircase when the clock behind him began to tick.

Riku spun around, keyblade at the ready. His spell was still in effect, but the hands of the clock slowly began to position themselves towards the bottom. One hand stopped on VII while the other appeared on III. The area between the two glowed for a moment then displayed a dark, sandy location. Riku noticed that not only was the strange area displayed, but that it was existent through the clock itself.

He gave the staircase another quick look and decided to follow the path through the clock. He made his way over to the clock carefully, making sure to not touch the darkness where he could help it. Just as he could touch the clock's base, a new hand appeared on the I position. However, Riku didn't notice and proceeded to jump through the clock into the shores of darkness.

…

' _Are you sure you scanned over all the data in detail?'_

' _Why yes Master Yensid!'_

' _Did you find anything concerning unlocking a keyhole of a world?'_

' _It's just as Riku said, we couldn't find any evidence on record of this happening before!'_

' _Ya! We looked and looked but nothing!'_

' _I see. You did bring the report summary though, yes?'_

' _Of course! Here ya go!'_

' _Thank you Chip and Dale, hopefully Ansem left us some truly valuable knowledge.'_

' _He sure did! By the way Master Yensid, I had a question concerning the data!'_

' _Yes?'_

' _Who's Xion?'_


	4. A Mysterious Encounter

The group ran as fast as they could across fields and into forests. Through the trees, Sora could notice portions of the mountain that appeared to be moving. 'That doesn't seem right.' He thought as he dodged a tree full of wood nymphs, who Phil promptly stopped at to try and talk to. Hercules, who'd been bringing up the rear, grabbed Phil by one of his horns and yanked him away from the giggling dryads.

Once everyone had reached the edge of the forest, they got a clear view of what was happening. The mountain appeared to be teaming with small, dark figures that marched about in small bands. The bands littered the side of the mountain but appeared to be most concentrated towards the top.

"What in the name of Zeus is going on!?" Phil shouted.

After taking it all in, Sora's attention refocused on the figure standing calmly at the base looking at the chaos that laid before him. "I think I have an idea."

Sora and the group ran up to Hades, weapons drawn and ready for action. However, Hades didn't seem to notice they were there until Hercules called out to him. "Hades!"

Hades turned to greet his guests, a small smile on his blue face. The fire on his head burning calmly, hardly flickering in the wind. "Hey gentlemen, how's it going? Been well, you look well, especially the duck in the back, but he'd probably look even better slowly roasting over a pit of fire in the Underworld, am I right? I mean hey, just kidding, how can I help you?"

Before Donald could process the God's rapid pace, Sora stepped forward, pointing his keyblade at Hades. "You mind explaining this Hades?"

Hades looked at Sora confused, then he got defensive. "What? You think I've got something to do with Sparky and the Shady Bunch up there? Nope, sorry spikey. You got the wrong guy. I've been going straight for a while on account of the immanent end of the worlds and all of that jazz, but you know, now that I think about it, maybe I should join in the action. You know, throw a couple of pot-shots at the cherry-pickers up North before I'm gone ey! Then again, I think your little mouse friend has other plans for me."

Every else was trying to take in all the information he'd thrown at them when Mickey smiled, looking at Hades. "So you know why I came here then?"

Right before Hades began ranting again, Hercules interrupted him. "Hades! The mountain. Olympus. What is going on?"

Keeping focused on Mickey, Hades gestured with his hand to go away. "That's your problem Hunk-ules, not mine. I'm not involved. Just leave me to the big-eared fellow while you and your possy go handle our noisey neighbors."

"Wat are you plannin ta do wit da king?" Donald questioned.

"Oh, you know, gotta discuss a small real-estate issue and merchandising for a new park."

"Hades!" Hercules growled, obviously getting frustrated. This angered Hades greatly who spun around flew straight up to Hercules' face, his pointed nose nearly touching Hercules. The God's eyes flickered with a tint of red and orange, giving the illusion of a fire burning in each of his eyes.

"Look Hercules, I said I don't know what's going on. I came here to see the action and meet with the mouse so if you don't mind." With that, the God gave Hercules a slight shove and his dark cloak flapped slightly in the wind. Hercules' stance didn't change, but he did slide back a short distance, frowning the whole way. "Go handle this little problem yourself kid."

Still frustrated, but knowing what was going on needed to be stopped, Hercules gave up, turned and ran to pegasus. As he mounted the horse, he called out to Sora and the others. "I'll meet you guys at the top. I need to make sure Olympus is safe." With a slight nudge to the horse's side, Pegasus took off in a gallop before gaining enough speed to begin to take flight. The two climbed higher and higher bit by bit till they were nearly out of earshot. That's when Hades called out one last time.

"Oh yeah! You might want to avoid the toothy! He's not the friendliest guy."

"Wart?" Goofy said, looking confused as ever. Mickey stood in front of his friends and smiled. "You guys go ahead. Clear out as many as you can and try to handle what is going on. I need to have a quick talk with the lord of the Underworld. I'll catch up to you and we will leave the world together."

"Really?" Donald questioned.

Sora jumped and giggled. "You hear that guys!? We get to go home! I can't wait to see the everyone!" Donald and Goofy followed suit and the three began jumping around in excitement. "The faster we finish this, the quicker we are out of here. Let's go!"

The three began to jog off towards the mountain. Sora gave one last, angry glance in the direction of Hades before picking up in speed towards the closest group of Heartless.

…

' _But I don't want to forget you!'_

' _You won't even remember why you regret your decisions so why should it matter?'_

' _I may not remember, but the pain I will feel will be hollow."_

' _The pain will help to know that you've forgotten something important. The sentiment will honor my departure.'_

' _How can you be so okay with disappearing?'_

' _Hmm. Can one who never should've existed even have a right to life in the first place?'_

' _But you do exist! We are something!'_

' _We are nothing but shards of memories. I can accept that.'_

' _Even so, why?'_

' _Why? Well, because people are depending on me. Even if I never truly know them, my Heart . . . something tells me this is the right choice.'_

…

The three had been battling their way up the mountain for quite some time. Together, they easily dispatched wave after wave of Heartless on their way to the top. The terrain itself was steep, forcing the group to follow a long, narrow path the winded up the side of the mountain.

The group now stood in the middle of the trail, waiting as a large band of Heartless approached them. When Sora summoned his blade, all of them began to sprint and fly forward directly toward him. Sora grinned as his keyblade began to fold outward and morph. It created a silver mechanism nearly as large as Sora. The mechanism extended forward from where Sora held it, with a trigger over his hand and an elongated, jagged barrel that pointed in the opposite direction. Golden spikes lined the end of the barrel and the weapon began to glow.

"Cya!" Sora shouted and pulled the trigger. A blast of golden energy erupted forward in a solid stream. As the weapon was firing, Sora dragged it in a fluid arc from right to left so the stream cut through nearly all the Heartless that were approaching him. As the arc ended, the mechanism stopped firing and collapsed back inward into Sora's keyblade.

"I wonder if that was too 'flashy' for Phil!" Sora shouted as the group of Air Soldier and Soldier Heartless burst into dust in front of him, their pink hearts floating off into nothing.

"Don't be overconfident Sowra." Goofy called as he crushed a normal Shadow Heartless beneath his shield.

There was a quick flash and the remaining Heartless were blasted away by Donald's Thunder spell. "Sowa, Donald and Goofy, baq in acshion!" The three cheered, confidence soaring after training for so long.

…

"So, what do you think the King wanted with Hades?" Sora asked as the group jogged calmly up the trail. Despite all the time they'd spent dispatching Heartless, it looked as though there were even more far ahead of them.

"I'm . . . not sure Sora. Hugh, I don't trust dat Hades." Donald said, struggling to speak as he waddled as fast as he could to keep up with his larger friends. "But dis is da King afda all . . . I'm sure he has dis covahd."

"Yeah, I guess. Hey, by the way. I wonder what Hades meant when he warned Hercules about 'Toothy'. You think it could be something dangerous?"

Goofy chuckled a bit and Sora turned to him. "What? What's so funny?"

Goofy smiled, still jogging, and explained. "It doesn't matta wat Hades said since Hercules is up dere! He's gunna handle whatever is gowing on in a flash, a-hyuck." The three began laughing as both others agreed with Goofy. After knowing Hercules for so long, they knew that a true hero like him could handle anything thrown his way.

As they continued laughing, a low rumble shook the mountain causing the Donald to trip and fall over, prompting the other two to stop. The rumbling was intense, generating a lot of noise.

"Guys. It's coming from the other side of the mountain! We need to check it out." Sora suggested as he helped Donald to his feet. "C'mon!"

…

Clouds gathered and rain began to fall lightly on the group as they cut through wave after wave of Heartless, making their way to the source of the rumbling. The wind remained calm, but large clouds covered the entire mountain, coating much of it in dim darkness. Eventually, the group rounded a cliffside and got a good view of what was going on.

Above them, on the side of the mountain, was an enormous mass of black rocks that seemed to be moving as one. The rocks appeared to be connected, yet bended and extended in areas to form joints and limbs to 'carry' the massive group of rubble up the mountain.

"Woah! What is that?!" Sora exclaimed, amazed by the massive sight before him. Donald and Goofy seemed just as surprised by its size as neither answered for several seconds.

"I don' know Sora. I just ope its not hostile." Goofy said as tremors from the creature's movement shook the mountain once again. This time, the mass let out a low grumble that sounded like two extremely muffled voices.

"Hmmm. This thing reminds me of something." Sora mumbled as he thought back to a battle he'd once had with a similar enormous foe. The thing was completely made of ice and he knew the battle had taken place at the Olympus Coliseum. Just as he was connected the dots, the mass of rocks seemed to cease all upward movement. Slowly, it turned in the direction of the group, revealing two rock heads that jutted out of the main mass of rocks. Each head had a face consisting of holes that led to a void of red madness. Seeing them, the creature once again grumbled with distaste.

"I know! It's a titan!" Sora shouted as he came to the realization. "Donald! Goofy! Prepare yourselves! We gotta bring this thing down!" He then jumped toward the cliffside in front of them and began running along the cliff's edge. Despite the cliff being so steep, Sora easily sprinted across and up the vertical incline, casting small Aero spells to assist in his ascension. Donald and Goofy followed close behind, traversing the incline in a less aggressive manner.

The titan roared at the group approaching it and slowly began chucking rocks in their direction. Its very movement scraped away the cliffside around it, showering stones and gravel over the Sora as he climbed higher and higher. After easily avoiding the first volley of attacks, the team engaged the titan in close-quarter combat.

…

' _Another new world safely locked away. Finally.'_

' _Come now, I thought that was cute.'_

' _There was no action or anything. Following around some dog for several days wasn't very entertaining you know.'_

' _And where were you for the fire we got stuck in?'_

' _I was napping. Gimme a break, this Hero work is tough stuff. I've been working hard over the last couple of worlds. I'm tired.'_

' _Hah. Well sorry, but our journey has only begun.'_

' _You could say that again.'_

…

The rock titan tried desperately to crush its attackers on the platform on which it stood. It continued to try and stomp on a Sora, who darted left and right, dodging the enormous stumps and rocks that dropped overhead. Blow after blow, he slashed at the legs of the titan, slowly wearing away the rocks that held them together. Donald floated higher up, firing spells in the direction of the heads in an attempt to distract them while Goofy deflected what falling boulders he could above Sora.

The team was working smoothly until Sora found he had broken through much of one of the stumpy feet. Deciding that was enough to throw the giant off balance, he jumped off his perch and began sprinting alongside the vertical cliff again. As he ran in jagged patterns up the side of the cliff, dodging the continuous hail of boulders, he called out to the other two. "Guys, let's send it falling with Attraction Flow!"

Goofy and Donald nodded in agreement, Donald descending and Goofy leaping off the cliffside. The titan slowly began to swing at them, intending to send them flying down the mountain.

"Thunder Mountain!" Sora shouted, causing what appeared to be a colorful roller-coaster made of energy to materialize beneath them, humming slightly. It took the form of a small train which had various open carriages that acted as seats, which allowed Sora, Donald and Goofy to easily drop into their own individual seats. Upon contact with the three, the coaster began moving slowly, gaining more and more speed with each passing second as it traveled across a golden path that continuously spawned in front of the vehicle. This was much to the Rock titan's dismay as its swing missed the group by a few feet, partially causing it to lean forward off-balance.

'Perfect', Sora thought as he steered the coaster around the titan, arcing around its sides in a smooth pattern that allowed them to form a loop and attack the titan from different angles as they passed by. Sora's keyblade extended and became whip-like, allowing him to slash at the titan from his seat on the coaster with ease.

Eventually, the titan reared back and threw a punch that headed straight towards the coaster. Donald and Goofy panicked, closed their eyes and braced for impact. However, Sora stood confidently and watched as the front of the coaster's tracks collided with the titan's fist. The coaster continued forward, unhindered, blasting the titan's fist back with a sharp cut of light. This knocked the titan to its side, causing it to nearly lose its footing. Sora, becoming impatient, decided to end the battle quickly and forced the coaster to begin to ascend above the titan rapidly. Knowing what his plan was, Donald and Goofy leapt off the coaster and landed on one of the small platforms on the side of the mountain.

The Rock titan watched as the train of light flew higher and higher out of reach, before reaching a peak of ascension. The train hovered momentarily, before cutting into a steep descent directly in the direction of the titan. As it closed in on its target, Sora jumped backwards, pushing the train with even more force so it reached high speeds. The sudden acceleration took the titan by surprise and the train crashed into one of its heads. The blow knocked back the entire rock structure into the side of the cliff which the titan barely held onto.

However, before the titan could recover, Sora struck the final blow. Jumping the train gave him even more height which he used to gain a great mass of momentum as he fell. Although he was holding back, trying to smoothly guide himself to the target, he hurdled at break neck speeds until he smashed into the center to the titan above its heads. He casted Reflega moments before impact, keeping him safe from the impact and increasing the area of his force.

The impact immediately knocked the Rock Titan from its perch. For a moment, it grabbed for the sides of the cliffs, but failed to gain a handhold or proper footing and proceeded to tumble down to the base of the mountain. Its weight hitting the ground shook the entire mountain, throwing Donald and Goofy off their feet.

Sora, still airborne, quickly used his Athletic Motion to reach the cliffside which he rode down to his friends below. An easy dismount was met by two high fives and smiles. As the three celebrated, the rain slowly dissipated, but the clouds persisted.

"Well, at least that's taken care of for the time being. Why not head straight to the top at this point?" Sora asked, thinking about Hercules who was probably waiting patiently for them to finish up.

"Sounds like a pwan to me!" Donald exasperated.

However, upon reaching the top of the mountain, which plateaued in comparison to the cliffs below, things were not as Sora, Donald and Goofy expected.

…

The three found themselves standing towards the top of a small coliseum with a stonepit at the center. Rows of silver stoned steps lined the area that the crowd would normally sit in a perfect circle with only one clear way in and out besides climbing overtop the sides. Sora, Donald and Goofy gasped when they saw was going on in the pit of the arena.

In the middle of the pit was Hercules, who was kneeling and clutching his side. He looked exhausted and struggled to even remain upright. Standing above him was a figure completely garbed in black and gray. The figure held something long and sharp, which Sora couldn't quite make out from a distance. However, when the figure slowly raised the object high into the air, it was clear it was some kind of keyblade.

Sora reacted quickly before the figure could strike Hercules. A quick Thundaga spell caught the figure off guard, causing it to halt its blow and jump back in shock. Sora leapt all the way from the top row of seats where he'd been standing and landed close to Hercules. A quick cure spell allowed Sora to help Hercules to his feet.

"What happened Hercules?"

Hercules was panting heavily and pressing all his weight against Sora just to stand. The group had never seen him in such a tattered state. He looked beaten and bruised and his face looked barren. Sora thought to himself that Hades would love to see Hercules like this.

After many labored breaths, Hercules slowly lifted his arm to point in the direction of the figure that Sora had scared back.

The figure resembled a human, standing no taller than Sora himself. It wore a light gray shirt fastened by a black sash around the figure's stomach. The sleeves extended beyond the wrists of the arms with large cuffs at the very end. Below the sash was a dark gray tunic which covered the figure's entire lower body. A large, black hood with gray stripes covered the figure's head and shoulders.

A silver mask mostly covered the face of the figure, leaving Sora staring at what appeared to be the face of a leopard. The mask hid all but that figure's human mouth which appeared motionless. The mask looked scratched and cut in multiple places and one of the fangs was broken short.

"I knew it ..." Sora whispered as he noticed what the figure wielded as a weapon.

In its hand, the figure held a long, jagged, sharp keyblade blade. It was far larger than most Sora was used to seeing and had spikes in all directions.

Sora helped Hercules to sit on the ground next to him before sizing up the figure. Donald and Goofy had finally made their way down the coliseum stairs and began to survey Hercules' wounds.

"Who are you!?" Sora shouted. He was angry about what the figure had done to Hercules, but his confusion over the situation kept him calm and on edge. The figure didn't respond to his question. Rather, it tilted its head and brought a hand to its chin, looking the gang up and down, as if it were studying them. A little frustrated, Sora shouted again.

"You seem to be a keyblade wielder, so why have you attacked a denizen of light?!" Instead of responding, the figure bent its knees and raised its blade. Sora could feel the air around them become full of static and the clouds around the mountain thickened, darkening the area. Dull sparks of electricity began to burst forth from the figure, shocking the air around it.

"Hercules isn't lookin so good. Wadda we gunna do Sowa?" Goofy asked.

Sora took a quick glance back and then extended his open palm, motioning to the stands around them. "Get Hercules out of this ring and to safety. I'll hold this guy off until you return and we'll finish it together."

Confident in Sora's decision, Goofy and Donald lifted Hercules and slowly carried him off to the side of the stadium. The figure, clearly not pleased with the departure of its first victim, began to dash towards Donald and Goofy with blinding speed. The two, not expecting this, initially panicked, but were relieved to see that Sora closed the distance between the two parties just as quick.

The clash of the two keyblades was met with a loud bang, sending yellow sparks in every direction. The sound of static echoed through the stadium. Although he stopped the attack, Sora could tell that the figure had him beat in a contest of strength. "Not them."

The figure looked him over, seeming to understand Sora's intent. It broke contact with Sora and took several short leaps back, gaining some distance.

'Toothy huh. Nice nickname Hades', Sora thought to himself. Although very nervous, he felt confident in himself after all the time he'd spent preparing. "Alright Leopard, if you insist on being uncooperative, you leave me with no choice." The Leopard prepared for battle, holding its jagged blade directly in front of it. Sora gripped the Kingdom Key with both hands and raised it over his right shoulder, pointing in the direction of the Leopard.

ooooooo

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Kingdom Hearts storyline nor any of the worlds involved.


	5. A Swift Exchange

_All were so desperate to defy the Master, and yet, none could escape their fate. The war tattered them, leaving nothing but hollow shells engulfed in the rage of their original selves. And yet . . . they still have a say in the final act._

…

The agility of the Leopard had kept Sora from landing any sort of hit for the entire fight, despite Sora giving it everything he had. Blasting various spells left and right and using different types of Action Abilities had gotten him nowhere besides helping to keep the figure from easily landing a blow as well. Around them, the clouds thickened and began flashing lightning as the figure continued to ramp up, producing more and more static that crashed in the air around it.

Sora was concerned that he was running low on resources. The fight had been relatively short, but the pacing had Sora already panting just to keep up with the lightning fast movement of the figure.

"Why are you doing this?!" He called out, hoping to finally get an answer from the figure. However, the leopard was far too focused on combat and took the advantage Sora's break in action to sprint forward and close the distance between the two. He swiped down at Sora with his blade, which Sora barely sidestepped in time. The missed attack smoothly buried the Leopard's blade into the ground in front of him. Although he'd missed, his attack still shook Sora to the core.

Sora quick-ran backward as his keyblade morphed into two small claw-like instruments, which allowed him to litter the area in small streams of light. Each twisted and turned, but failed to find its mark on the Leopard, who dashed at rapid speeds after it dislodged its blade from the ground. The blade began spurting small flashes of lightning, giving it an even sharper appearance than before.

'This is bad.' Sora thought. 'Donald, Goofy, I need your help.'

Relentless as ever, the Leopard dashed towards Sora again. This time, its strike found its mark and the large blade coated with lightning struck Sora's weapon. The blow was too heavy to fully block and Sora couldn't hold onto his keyblade, which flew off far behind him. With his weapon gone, Sora took a direct blow to his temple from the side of the Leopard's keyblade.

This knocked him to the ground, clutching the side of his head in pain. He was exhausted, beaten and barely maintaining consciousness. 'Ugh. What can I do?' Then, Sora's thoughts faded to black.

…

Sora stood alone on the edge of the shores of Destiny Islands, gazing out into the endless sea. The breeze was warm and salty, but felt calm and refreshing. The waves sluggishly crept slightly along the shore and showed no signs of aggression. The sand under his shoes was hot and Sora could feel its warmth coat the air around him. He felt as one with the waves, calmly breathing in and out. Everything felt natural.

Then, he could slowly hear a noise. It was the voice of a friend, but he couldn't quite make out who it was. Sora looked left and right, but saw that he still stood alone. Upon hearing the voice again, he walked up the water and peered down. There, he could see a figure cloaked in black looking straight back at him, who appeared to be calling his name. Not trusting the coated figure, he backed away from the water.

As he tried to figure things out, he felt a cold hand grab his shoulder. Sora spun around to find nothing behind him but the island itself. Just as he began to process what had happened, his environment darkened. He slowly felt his eyes close on their own and he collapsed to the ground.

…

Gradually, Sora's sight returned and he remembered where he truly was. Although his vision was blurred, he could make out a few clear glimpses of the figure slowly striding over toward him. The figure's stride was short and slow, but showed no signs of injury. As it approached him, the static around it began to dissipate and the figure dismissed its keyblade. Sora tried to get up, hoping that he could finally speak with the Leopard, but it was to no avail. Calmly, the Leopard picked Sora up and slung him over its shoulder. Just as the Leopard began carrying him away, he could hear Donald and Goofy calling out to him. "Sora!"

Donald and Goofy were sprinting straight for Sora and the figure, weapons drawn and at the ready. This worried Sora greatly. He tried to yell for them not to engage the Leopard in combat, but couldn't muster the strength. Noticing the dog and duck, the Leopard simply raised its free arm in their direction. From the front of its palm spawned a yellow ball of lightning that erupted forward. The two shrieked as the lightning zapped both Donald and Goofy and threw them into the stands.

'Darn it. If only I . . .' Sora's thoughts froze when he noticed that Donald and Goofy began to get up. He'd been hoping that a single blow would knock them out and the figure would leave them be, but the two slowly struggled to upright themselves, once again calling Sora's name.

Sora could feel the demeanor of the figure change as it resummoned its blade. The static shocks returned and a dark pressure began to exert itself in the area. This time, Sora managed to squeak to his friends. "Run."

Donald and Goofy didn't listen though and charged again, this time much slower than the last. With a quick swing of the figure's blade, the two were met with a wave of lightning and darkness that once again blasted them back. A day of fighting left them exhausted and without excess magic, there was little they could do to defend themselves. However, seconds after landing, both again struggled to get up.

'No!' Sora cried in his thoughts. More than anything, he wanted his friends to leave so he'd know they'd be safe, but the two were persistent.

"We won't let you take our friend!" Donald shouted and Goofy huffed in agreement. Sora could hear the weakness in their voice. The figure's aura felt menacing as it readied for what could only be described as a final strike. Sora could sense this and panicked. In desperation, he wriggled until he broke out of the figure's grasp and landed on the ground with a thud. The figure immediately bent down to pick him up again, but was blasted back with a huge explosion of light which sent the Leopard tumbling in another direction.

"Light!"

…

' _Sora!'_

'That voice. Who are you?'

' _C'mon, what are you talking about? You know exactly who I am.'_

'I'm sorry, I'm a bit dazed right now.'

' _Yeah. Seems like you're in trouble, huh.'_

'I . . . I need to wake up to help my friends.'

' _Using that power you fear?'_

'Whatever it takes.'

' _Why not use my power?'_

'Huh?'

' _Together, we are whole.'_

'Wait. Who . . .'

…

The blast knocked Donald and Goofy from their fragile poses and into the stands, incapacitating them. The Leopard, who'd been hit at point blank range, was sent tumbling through the air, barely managing to land properly at the other end of the arena.

Sora was pulled upward and placed firmly on his feet. He could feel a huge surge of power course through him, reviving his acute senses and replenishing his energy. Not only that, he felt far lighter than normal, like his insides had disappeared and he was not but a hollow frame of his former self. While the Leopard looked stunned from the blow, Sora looked himself up and down, confused as to what had happened.

The obvious change to his appearance was his clothes, which were different from any he'd worn before. For starters, his pants looked unraveled and changed into shades of black and gray. The top of his shirt and newly gray shoes now possessed stripes of red instead of yellow. While his undershirt remained black, his t-shirt had gone shimmery white with checkered lines of black squares running across his chest and around his arms. New bands of the same checkered pattern wrapped around his wrist and a few of his fingers. Fingers which now held two new Keyblades: one of white and one of black.

Before Sora could inspect the blades, the Leopard appeared before him. There was not audio warning nor force present in its attack. However, as it swung its blade, Sora could feel his body move on its own. A quick twist of his wrists and the blades formed an X in front of him, bringing the Leopard's attack to a halt. The three keyblades scratched and scraped against one another, but this time, it felt clear that Sora had the upper hand.

Whether it was the new form or the exhaustion of the figure after fighting for so long, Sora extended his blades outward, easily shoving the Leopard back upon separation. The Leopard tried summoning more lightning to ramp itself up again, but was met with a flurry of blades as Sora closed the distance and slashed at the figure. After taking a few hits, the figure tried to dash backward and gain distance between the two, but Sora followed close behind, floating slightly over the ground, particles of light following close behind.

The two broke into short bouts, dancing left and right around each other and the arena. With each fight, Sora continued to overwhelm his foe with brilliant flashes of light and smooth swings of his blades. It wasn't long before Sora had cornered the Leopard, trapping it against the side of the arena.

"Enough!" Sora demanded, his eyes glaring menacingly at the figure. "You've hurt far too many of my friends. I don't know what you are up to, but it ends now. You'll be coming with us." The figure tried to jump up and away, but was met with Sora's Holy spell which engulfed the figure in a tower of light. However, as Sora prepared to catch the clearly defeated figure as it fell, a purple crystal zipped through the air outside his vision. It connected with the robe of the figure, pinning it to the side of some of the stands.

"Must you always have such an angry look on that face of yours." Surprised, Sora spun around. He easily recognized the voice and couldn't help but frown. Standing nearby was an old foe of Sora's, Xigbar, who stood nonchalantly staring at Sora with his single golden eye. "You heroes should try smiling more. Else, people might begin thinking you're on the side of darkness."

"Bra . . . Xig . . . whoever you are. What are you doing here?" Sora grunted, eyes fully focused on the sharpshooter. Xigbar wore the black coat Sora had always seen him in and was carrying one of his trademark crossbows.

"Right. I'm here to pick up my friend." Xigbar responded, motioning to the Leopard who was still pinned against the side of the stands, breathing quietly.

"Your, friend?" Sora questioned, glancing at the hanging robed figure.

"Yeah! I gotta say, you and you friends did quite a number on my pal. But he's getting tired, so the fun's over. We'll just be back to open it later I guess."

'Riku's theory had probably been right.' Sora shifted slightly. "As if I'd just let you take him. Clearly this Leopard is important to you guys. I don't know why you guys are targeting the keyholes, but if I take this wielder, I can prevent that."

Xigbar smirked. "Oh Roxas, you've clearly outweighed your chances against us."

Angered, Sora waved his blades, threatening Xigbar. "I am not Roxas, nor is he me! I thought I settled this with you."

"Right, whatever. Go look in a mirror will ya."

With a quick snap of his fingers, Xigbar disappeared in a crash of shattering glass. Before Sora could react, he heard the same noise of Xigbar teleporting behind him in the stands. "We have plenty of plans, but still, I can't just let you take this Guardian."

Sora turned and soared towards Xigbar and the figure. However, there was far too much distance and Xigbar simply smiled. "See you soon, Roxas."

Sora reared back and threw one of his keyblades at Xigbar. However, the spinning blade was met with nothing but the stands where Xigbar once stood as he vanished nearly instantly with the Leopard.

Frustrated, but having his priorities straight, Sora ran as fast as he could to help Donald and Goofy recover. His form deactivated and remaining keyblade vanished in shimmering light.

…

' _Did you see him?'_

' _Yes, I was able to touch him briefly.'_

' _Hopefully that gave him the message.'_

' _I think he'll get the idea.'_

' _Hope he does, otherwise we might stay stuck.'_

' _Have faith DiZ.'_

' _DiZ?'_

' _Right, I forgot. Never mind.'_

' _Did we once know each other young man?'_

' _More than you know.'_

' _Was . . . was I a bad person?'_

' _. . .'_

' _I see.'_

…

After several spells and items, Sora was able to resuscitate Donald and Goofy. The clouds quickly cleared out and the bright sun began to shine again, warming the group in its heat. Despite the sounds of birds now chirping, the mountain fell silent by comparison to the chaos that previously shook it. Once Donald and Goofy fully recovered, they began swarming Sora with questions.

"Are you okay?"

"Who was that?"

"What did they want?"

"How did you win?"

Overwhelmed, but glad to see that his friends were okay, Sora smiled and explained as much as he could.

"Gawrsh, sorry we took so long Sora." Goofy said, a glum tone in his voice. Both Donald and he held their heads in shame and disappointment. Seeing his friends upset, Sora tried to lighten the mood.

"Hey, no worries! I'm sure Hercules is a really heavy guy and . . . oops!" Sora noticed that he neglected to ask about their demigod friend and started jogging towards the entrance of the arena, motioning for the other two to follow. However, before they reached the entrance, three figures entered.

"Hercules! You're okay! That's great. And your Majesty, I'm glad you made it here and . . . Hades?" Sora stood confused as he stared at the God of Death, who was calmly standing at Hercules' side. "Uhh, what's going on?"

Mickey smiled and giggled a bit. "Let's just say our negotiations went well." This confused Sora, Donald and Goofy even further, who began looking at one another and shrugging.

Hercules let out a deep breath and explained. "Mickey was able to convince Hades to help me protect this world given that he already knows so much about all the worlds."

"What? What does that mean?!" Sora exclaimed, surprised by Hercules' statement.

"It means . . ." Hades interjected, clearly provoked by his brief bit of silence in the conversation. "That I'll be helping to hold down the fort. You know, limiting the involvement of darkness in this region of the worlds and all that cool jazz."

Donald and Goofy gasped at the prospect. "What!?"

"Ugh, no need to be so surprised Duck. I know you have trouble understanding us complex characters, but please try to follow along."

Donald crossed his arms in huffed. He twisted his head, causing the tassel on the back of his hat to flap violently.

"And at what price does this service come at, hmm?" Sora questioned, a sense of doubt in his voice.

"Well, for starters, Hunkcules is gonna help me repair my dysfunctional relationship with my family." Hades said, pointing at the clouds above the mountain. "Been thinking a lot recently, and the disbandment of Maleficent's group has left me with little to do these days."

Goofy couldn't help himself and smiled brightly. "Awwww, that's really nice."

Sora also felt the same, but his doubt in the intentions of the God kept him realistic. "And . . ."

"And we've got no choice, key-boy." Hades said in a very serious voice, which contradicted his normally cheerful tone. "Their plan is in motion, and we're only gonna make it out if we work together. But don't worry, the mouse has given me the assurances and future compensations required for my full support."

Sora sighed and accepted the situation. The group fell silent for a moment, before Mickey spoke up. "What happened here?"

After Sora explained, for the second time in the course of ten minutes, Mickey brought up the obvious question. "What was the purpose of this attack? Were they after the keyhole?"

"I'm not sure." Sora stated. "I haven't checked the keyhole yet to see if its locked or not, but that's what Xigbar made it sound like."

"They wanted to access the Heart of the World." Hades spoke up. "The keyhole was not found this time, but the figure you faced likely sought to unlock it."

"But I thought a locked keyhole was permanently locked." Goofy said.

"Sorry Dog, but it doesn't seem like things are that easy. Xehanort's trying to build up the essence of darkness in as many worlds for something. To do that, he's got his goons running about opening the keyholes again. But what this something is, I don't know. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have preparations to make. Mickey!" Mickey turned to Hades. The two stared off momentarily before Hades grinned, "Have fun with the others. I'm sure they won't be nearly as cooperative as me." And with that, the God of the Underworld vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the group in an unnatural silence.

…

' _So, by your condition, I take it things didn't go as smoothly as planned.'_

' _Oh quiet you old geyser, it's not like it was his fault.'_

' _And what else would be the reason for this utter failure.'_

' _Hmmm . . . Must have been that hero. Ooo what's his name? . . . Ah! Hercules, I think it was. It was his interference that must have weakened our little friend here.'_

' _So, the heroes of light are not alone then.'_

' _Perhaps I can seek a solution. All hearts are weak to darkness, and with a bit of research, I could take advantage of these 'extra heroes' who fight for light.'_

' _Back off Xehanort . . . Or, well. I don't care who you are. My plan will work. Don't forget who I am. I was there for the experiments Vexen and Xaldin held on the residence of these realms. You underestimate the strength of the inhabitant's hearts.'_

' _My my Sharpshooter, never thought I'd see you credit the fools so much.'_

' _All I'm saying is the plan won't work. Especially now that No. XIII is rapidly gaining strength again. He won't let you experiment so easily.'_

' _No. XIII?'_

' _Yah . . . Roxas.'_

…

After ensuring the keyhole was once again locked and Hercules was to be taken care of, Mickey, Sora, Donald and Goofy prepared to head back to Mickey's Gummi ship. However, after Donald and Goofy boarded, Sora stopped Mickey.

"Mickey, before I return to Yensid, there's something I have to do."

"Huh, what do you mean Sora?"

"I can't really describe it, but I had a vision."

"Of what?" Mickey said, an obvious tone of concern in his voice.

"Well . . . of home." Sora said gently, nervous of how the King would feel. "I won't abandon you guys, but I just have a feeling that it's important." His shoulder felt cold as he said this.

"Hmmm . . . Go ahead Sora. Take your ship and meet us at Yensid's Tower as soon as you can."

Sora smiled, glad to see Mickey's faith in him. He proceeded to bow. Mickey followed suit. "May your heart be your guiding key, Sora."

"You too, your Majesty."

ooooooo

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Kingdom Hearts storyline nor any of the worlds involved.

 **Hiya! So, I don't want to embarrass anybody, but I figured with this chapter, I just wanted to say thanks to some people.**

 **Thanks to my followers for giving me a visual queue that people are reading (and I assume enjoying) the story I'm trying to craft [course, I can see the other viewers out there as well and I appreciate you giving the story a chance too :P].**

 **Specifically, thanks** **stardust902** **for leaving the first review of my writing and being honest with how they felt. I'm always happy to receive feedback (including any criticisms) and change the flow of the story to match the opinions of readers (though, not fully at the expense of the planned base storyline).**

 **And finally, thanks to** **TheRoseAlchemist17** **for helping to give me advice on specific story elements. I'm glad to see the fanfic community is one I can reach out to for help in writing when I need it.**

 **Hope to continue writing a story for people to read before the long-awaited release of the true KH III storyline.**


	6. A Hardened Resolve

**Wow. I disappeared for a bit there. Sorry to anyone who was waiting for the story to continue. Things have been a bit . . . busy. Whelp, this is the second to last chapter of my Arc of Beginnings. I hope to finish the final one at least over Spring Break. For anyone who has known the story up to this point, you may notice I changed the title (used to be Shimmering Destiny). The initial title I had in mind used to be "The Fated/Faded Reconnect" which did (and still does) hint at the ending of the story. However, for the time being, I've chosen to name it "The Hidden Demons" in light of how the story develops. I'd like to continue and maybe even finish this story, but I make no promises. Any who, hope you enjoy!**

The sand of the beach felt cold and coarse. It was sharp and brittle as opposed to its smoother, brighter counterpart. However, the waves rolled along the shore, same as always. Constant and calm, yet the smallest ripples would form in the slight breeze of the area. A place where one feels empty, letting them accept reality and calmly simply exist. Funny how the Realm of Darkness could possess such a tranquil place.

After what he'd just been through, Riku welcomed the familiar sight. He was once prepared to remain by these shores indefinitely instead of returning to the Realm of Light. Now that he'd returned, he could once again feel its effect on him.

'I've come so far just to find myself back where my adventure ought to have ended', he thought as he slowly patrolled the waterfront. He looked out towards the Sea of Darkness, watching the water turn to enormous arms of jagged darkness that reached around the shores in a broken dome. He didn't wonder where the water lead, and unlike ever before, he felt contempt to remain on the beachside.

Although mostly flat, every so often there sat large stones not far from the water. Riku could make out more and more in the distance as they acted as landmarks for the him. The surrounding air was cool, but it wasn't thick with darkness like the places Riku had traversed through during his time in the Realm. This meant that the light he'd been following practically coated the entire beach, making it impossible for Riku to pinpoint an exact direction.

'So long as the light is here, I will find her.'

….

The further he trudged, the more and more he thought and worried about his friends at home. 'Was the darkness right? Do I really not have faith in his friends?' Riku couldn't help himself. The visions swirled and swarmed his mind, consuming every thought. The long path certainly didn't help. It felt nearly infinite, like a true world of its own.

Tired and hurt, Riku decided to sit down to give his ankle a rest. He was surprised to see that the wound had taken so long to heal, but he decided to chalk it up to a negative effect of the darkness surrounding him. Stopping allowed him to calm down and clear his mind.

His thoughts slowed as well as his heartbeat, and then he noticed how quiet it was. Besides the soft noise of the waves against the shores, it was silent. Although it felt peaceful, it highlighted something Riku was far too used to. He was alone.

…

' _Looky looky! Been awhile huh chief.'_

' _I can't believe I actually brought you back. Didn't she try this not long ago? Ugh, you're lucky I like you or you'd still be buzzing and squirming.'_

' _Whaaat!?'_

' _Oh well, what can ya do? Look, pay attention and listen because I'm only gonna explain this once.'_

' _And wwhhhyyy would I care about anything yoooouuuu have to say?'_

' _Because we need your help. Time to make a comeback my ragged compadre.'_

' _Weeelll, I guess I can spare the time.'_

' _Not like you stood a chance out doing anything with that skeleton crawling about.'_

' _Hey! As I recall, you have are in a similar situation!'_

' _I am, but it's time we change that. Together.'_

….

"Aqua!" Riku called out over the beach side. "Aqua!" He called, hoping that she'd hear him and come running. The light felt strong as ever, nearly consuming all the dark of the realm around it. Riku felt enveloped by it, almost like he'd returned to the realm of light.

However, a sudden, stronger breeze blew Riku's hair across his face and whipped at the bottom of his coat. The air was cold just like the deeper areas of the realm. Before he could react, a dark corridor opened not far ahead of him towards the waterfront. The portal was larger than the one he'd encountered in The World That Never Was and caused a low rumbling noise. Its colors of purple and black ungelated in and out, looking like it continuously collapsed inward on itself.

Then, a familiar noise of stomping slowly grew louder and louder. "Here? But How?" Riku was shocked to see a being of dark travel to the shores. Riku didn't have time to think nor a place to hide as the figure emerged from the portal, and turned directly towards him. Riku dashed for a nearby rock, but the figure had obviously seen him.

The figure towered over Riku, its very presence made Riku's limbs feel heavy. Its pressure was so great that he nearly felt pinned to the rock he'd dashed to. All sensations of light were swallowed in the mere presence of the monster. Riku's heart began racing as he readied for combat. His arm began vibrating greater than ever before and he instinctively summoned his keyblade. However, as the Heartless came closer and closer, his panic ensued.

Giving it a quick glance, Riku identified the threat as a huge Dark Side Heartless. The spread of its legs was far enough apart that it had to place one foot in the water to keep near the beach. 'That is enormous! Its overwhelming!' Riku didn't have time to think about it though as the Dark Side lifted its arm and readied to smash the rock Riku was behind. Riku felt like he was losing control on reality. His memories flashed violently and his body felt riddled with pain and exhaustion. Instinctively, he grabbed his vibrating arm and clutched it, trying to grip reality.

…

There was a flash of light that occurred briefly as Riku's hand latched onto the armor piece that had been under his cloak since The World That Never Was. Riku felt a strange sensation and immediately let it go, but it was too late. The armor shuddered for a moment, then felt like it disappeared. In an instant, Riku was suddenly covered in a silver and gold suit of armor. The armor's fit felt firm, wrapping itself around Riku's whole body. The chest plate had multiple parts that riddled his midsection with sharp scales of metal, graphing along his flattened figure. Both his legs and arms were covered by smooth sections of silvery armor that shielded any sign of his cloak underneath.

A helmet had formed, retaining his sight while protecting his head. The front had a dark screen over his face and two golden spikes that protruded from the top. Just as the Heartless' attack neared, Riku's thoughts froze and his body began to move on its own and he dodged the Dark Side's slow punch. The blow shattered the rock and ground beneath it, sending rock and dust flying everywhere. Although he thought to cast Reflect, something told him to not worry and he simply watched as the shards of the rock clanked harmlessly off of Riku.

'This . . . is incredible!' Was all he could think as Riku jumped about, making his way towards the head of the Heartless. The pressure of darkness no longer constrained him and he freely lept from one portion of the Dark Side's leg to the next, scaling the massive Heartless. Riku was surprised by how smoothly the armor mirrored his movements as it pieces slid back and forth with every movement he made.

Upon reaching the head, he slashed at the tendrils surrounding the eyes, cutting them to bits of black smoke. The creature reared back and shook, trying to pry Riku off. However, its sluggish movements had little effect as Riku continued his onslaught. He lept off of the head and riddled the Heartless' body with shards of ice. Following up with a Graviga spell, Riku immobilized the monstrous creature, preparing for a final blow. Once he landed, he dashed through the Heartless landing a single cut through its midsection. Riku smiled under his helmet, seemingly pleased with the results of his experience using the armor. However, he was surprised to see that the Heartless survived the attack and was preparing a massive amount of energy above its head.

Riku nearly jumped in anticipation. "Want more huh big guy?! Let's do i . . ." Before he could finish his taunt, a beam of light appeared above his head, striking the heartless through the chest. The beast shuddered for a moment before disappearing with the wind, leaving nothing but an enormous heart which slowly floated away.

Surprised, Riku spun around to see the attacker. He grinned when he saw who it was and began to walk forward.

"Aqua! It's great to have finally found you. . ." He was once again interrupted by a beam of light. This one struck him in the chest, engulfing his midsection in a swirl of white, blue, and purple light. The stream wasn't sharp, but hit him hard, knocking him off his feet and blasting him backwards.

The attacker was a young woman matching the physical appearance of the one who Riku had seen in the Hall of Mirrors. She held a long, black keyblade which she brandished in her target's direction. Her blue eyes looked unblinking, totally focused on the suit of armor that lay on the ground not far from her.

…

"I can't believe the darkness would conjure up such a thing." Aqua said to herself as she readied for battle. It had been years since she'd seen it, but she immediately knew who the armor had once belonged to. It did look slightly different from her memory. The chest plate was shrunken and jagged and no golden crowns were present, but the resemblance was undeniable. It was his armor.

Needless to say, she was on high alert. So much time had passed with her surrounded in darkness that she began to perceive nearly everything as a potential threat. Torturous visions of grotesque scenes conjured by the ever-present darkness had often haunted her dreams. Illusions of friends lost and enemies fought had plagued her waking hours for so long. All odds stacked against her, but yet, she lasted this long. Her will and heart may have faltered once or twice, but her conviction is what let her reach the shores which she'd started patrolling after meeting the first companion she'd had in who knows how long.

And now, here she stood. Facing what must be another illusion. However, this time, this illusion felt real, present, as if a soul carried the metal with purpose. Had Xehanort fully overtaken her friend Terra? Had he regained his full strength and had traveled here in pursuit of her and the knowledge she carried?

Aqua stilled herself for a moment, trying to identify the presence that lay before her. Unfortunately, the armor covered most of the being's essence, but she could tell that it wasn't Xehanort, nor Terra. 'It doesn't matter what this thing is', she thought. All that mattered now was her safety not only for her own life, but for the safety such an end would threaten for others.

Aqua's fiery stare continued, unblinking, waiting for the figure to make a move. Slowly but surely, the figure began to rise. It seemed weary, and much to her surprise, it began clutching its leg. Aqua waited, watching the figure. 'That has to be some strange illusion. But then, why would it react to an injury?'

Still nervous but curious, she raised her blade and slowly approached. As she got closer, the figure looked directly at her. It raised its hand towards it head and instinctively, Aqua dashed forward to attack. The figure grabbed its helmet and pulled it off just in time. Aqua's blade stopped inches from the face of a young man, who slightly flinched when the blade drew near. She decided to dance back, putting a bit of distance between the two. Studying the face of the young man, Aqua found it familiar. She'd definitely seen it before.

Watching Aqua try to piece it together, the young man smiled. "Hi Aqua. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"You. Who are you? Why are you here? Are you an illusion? Who sent you?" Her voice was sporadic. It wasn't possible. It must be some kind of trick. After all this time, it would be too good to be true.

Calmly, the young man responded. "I'm here because your friend Mickey sent me. I can assure you that I'm no illusion. I've come to help you escape this place . . . I guess time has made you forget who I am, huh."

Her eyes lit up as she realized that who stood before her was real. He'd grown so much since she'd last caught a glimpse of him, but she knew exactly who it was now. Aqua dismissed her blade and stared in disbelief. "Riku . . ."

…

' _I've felt a presence. One who I've thought long gone.'_

' _And who would that be?'_

' _My old master.'_

' _Really? That doesn't seem probable.'_

' _I can assure you that this is undeniable. I don't know what he has to do with what we plan to accomplish, but you will capture him at all costs.'_

' _Wow. No love your old friend ey.'_

' _Don't underestimate him. You should bring the Lunar Divider with you.'_

' _I doubt that will be necessary, but if you insist.'_

' _Good.'_

' _Before I go, where's your nobody?'_

' _Why does that matter to you?'_

' _I want to know what happened to the rest of the group.'_

' _Oh. You thought that nobodies like them would ever matter?'_

' _You underestimate what we once were. If it were just . . .'_

' _Enough. You have a task to do. Go forth and fetch him.'_

… _._

Riku sat watching a conflicted Aqua try and piece it all together. It had taken him what felt like forever to fill Aqua in on as much as he could (which given the situation was the bare minimum). Her demeanor changed from hesitant to relaxed around him as she came to truly realize that this was no dream, nor an illusion. However, every now and then, Riku saw Aqua glare at his midsection, much to his discomfort.

"So that's it then. Xehanort's threat still persists." Aqua said, a touch of anger in her voice.

Reluctantly, Riku sighed. He wished he could have come bearing good news of a safe realm for Aqua to return to, but it wasn't so simple. "We've done all we could. All of our previous efforts and adventures have all been for not it seems."

Hearing this, Aqua turned and shook her head. "I disagree. You guys have done so much for the Realm of Light. Your actions saved the worlds and protected Kingdom Hearts on multiple occasions. The threat may persist, but don't underestimate what you have accomplished to this point."

Riku smiled slightly, but still felt gloom. He was a keyblade master, but his recent mindset didn't seem to present this. Was it the realm affecting him? No, something more must be behind this.

Before Riku could speak up, Aqua turned and began to jog along the side of the beach. Confused, Riku quickly got up and ran after her. "Where are you going Aqua?"

A small turn of her head allowed Aqua to shout back. "There's a friend we should pick up. Also, please take that armor off Riku."

'Armor?' Riku thought, then noticed that the armor still surrounded him, clanking loudly as they ran. How did he not notice that he never unequipped it? Feeling embarrassed that Aqua had pointed it out, Riku immediately thought of taking it off. Interesting enough, the mere thought of removing it caused the armor to fold back in on itself, returning to its original shoulder plate setup.

'That's convenient.' Although he still wore his Black Coat, he now felt vulnerable and light. "So, who's this friend of yours that we're heading toward?" Riku queried.

"I don't know." Aqua responded simply.

Confused and slightly concerned, he decided to ask more. "How did you meet this person?"

"He was roaming these shores not long ago when I came upon him. He wore a Black Coat that covers his face, but I couldn't sense any sign of darkness within him. So, I decided to trust him and he and I have roamed these shores seeking a path out ever since." She explained, slowing down slightly so that Riku could run alongside her.

"What?!" Riku said shocked. He came to nearly an immediate halt, causing Aqua to follow suit.

"What's the problem?"

"Aqua, a Black Coat is a sign of someone from Organization XIII. We can't trust someone like that." Riku said,

"But I sensed no dark aura from him." She stated, confused as to Riku's concern.

"Sorry. That's right. I should've explained. Nobodies aren't beings of darkness necessarily. They are beings of the realm between who can use the darkness to their advantage." He explained, knowing that there was so much more than just that to Nobodies.

Aqua pondered on this. She'd never knowingly met what Riku referred to as "Nobodies", but she was confident that her friend could be trusted. "Just trust me Riku, let's at least find him first."

Reluctantly, Riku nodded in agreement. "But then we need to head straight out. Hopefully, my plan will work."

" _Hey Mickey, where's Sora!?"_

" _It's okay Goofy. He had to go handle something back home. He'll catch up soon."_

" _Oh. I see."_

" _Hmmm. Guys, I didn't get to ask Sora much about it, but what did the figure back at the colosseum look like?"_

" _Well . . . The only thing that I remember is that they had a mask on. I think the mask was a Cheetah?"_

" _No Goofy! It was a Leopard."_

" _There's a difference?"_

" _Tarzan would be disappointed."_

" _A Leopard masked Keyblade wielder? That sounds eerily familiar."_

" _What are you thinking Mickey?"_

" _Well, if what I'm thinking is true, you guys are lucky to be alive. Then again, it's just a fairy tale. Probably shouldn't put stock into it. Still . . ."_

"What was the plan by the way?" Aqua questioned as the two continued down the shores. "I mean, great that your here to help, but what did you have in mind?"

Even with his hurt leg, Riku didn't struggle to keep pace with his target. "I plan to use the Door to Light as I did last time, assuming that it's still open to the touch. I have a good idea of how to summon it too. Are you concerned about our exit?"

"Time in the Realm of Darkness can be far different from that in the Realm of Light. I don't want to take any chances and let time fly by. I've been here long enough, I'm sorry if I sound desperate to leave."

This formed a pit in Riku's stomach. She was right. He knew she'd been here for nearly all his life, dealing with the darkest atmosphere in all the realms. He'd been there for what felt like a few days and already felt exhausted from the challenges he'd faced.

"So, what's your friend like?" Riku said, trying to change the subject.

Aqua pondered on her answer, before responding. "He seems wise. I wish we knew who he was, but his memory is broken. I don't know what happened to him, but he only remembers certain things, and for only certain periods of time."

"Huh?" Riku felt even more concerned than before.

"Well, he remembers some things. Certain actions, and certain individuals. He predicted your eventual arrival."

Riku was both confused and surprised. Regardless of the possible danger, he decided it would be best to follow along.

The two ran along the beachside, keeping close to the water and weaving around the rocks that were scattered about. Eventually, Riku saw rock in the distance with something dark perched upon it. As if reading his mind, Aqua called out. "I think that's him!"

Riku nodded. He was calm, but a bit nervous. When they came upon the figure, it turned slowly and gestured to greet its visitors.

Aqua strode up to it smiling. "Hi! Nice to see you're still alright."

The presence of the individual was neither dark nor light, just as Aqua had described. Its cloak covered it from head to toe including its face, leading Riku to believe that was causing his inability to sense much of anything from the figure. However, somewhere inside, Riku felt as though the figure was familiar. Perhaps the gesture reminded him of someone he knew. Before Riku could ask, the figure raised its hand and spoke.

"Hello Aqua. I apologize for wandering off a bit, but I found something."

Riku instantly recognized the voice. "Ansem the Wise!"

The figure looked in his direction, staring quietly as it seemed to survey his face. "Ansem the Wise?"

'That's right, his memory. Better hold off on pushing him too much right now.' Although Riku was shocked, his thoughts immediately shifted when he saw what the figure carried.

"You found it! Great, we should head out immediately." Riku stated as he walked up to the figure and motioned for the bottle. The figure looked to Aqua and she shrugged, motioning with her chin to hand the bottle over.

"Riku, do you know this man?" Aqua asked, but Riku was preoccupied. He was turning the bottle around in his hands, noting all its details. Riku's mind began flashing with memories, but they weren't aggressive. The memories flowed smoothly, washing in and out with the sound of the waves. He closed his eyes and pictured Sora and him sitting by these very shores.

"This is it guys, we are here." Riku smiled and walked to the water. He placed his hand on the surface, holding the bottle close to his heart. 'I can do this'. He could feel his chest begin to warm up. A small blast of light erupted beneath his hand into the water. It flew forward, creating a path of light along the surface leading to what appeared to be a shimmering passage. The passage shined too brightly to see any detail, but Riku immediately knew it was the Door to Light.

Aqua jumped back, stunned by the light being emitted from the passage. "Light! The Realm of Light! It's been so long." She could feel herself being drawn in, as if a force pulled her in. Every fiber of her being desired to jump through the awaiting world, but she remained as calm as she could. "How is this possible?"

Riku smiled, "We've opened it from here before. Then again, it's never really far." He too could feel the pull of the Realm of Light and began to stand slowly. However, as he lifted his hand from the surface, he could feel the passage to the door of light waning. Desperate to keep it open, he dropped to his knees to ensure his hand remained on the water, calling forth the light.

"We've got a problem Aqua, I must remain here to keep the door open." His focus was now completely on keeping the door open. While he knew he could probably just reopen it, he didn't want to take the chance. "You two go through."

"What!" Aqua shouted. "Riku, I'm not leaving you behind! There has to be another way." Just as she said this, she could feel her keyblade appear loosely in her hands. Not expected this, the blade slipped away from her and was sucked towards the portal of light. A quick grasp at the air was all she could manage as she watched her master's blade fly into the Realm of Light.

"Don't be stubborn. You've been here long enough. Escape while you can. I'm sure I'll find a way out, now go." Riku's voice staggered as he struggled to keep the door open.

"I'm not leaving you!" She stated, anger in her voice. "What's the point if all we end up doing is swapping places? We need you in the Realm of Light Riku."

Riku sighed. Then, he felt something strange. He could feel a world of the Realm of Light, calling to him. He reached through the passage, extending his presence through onto the world beyond. He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them he was staring at a reflection besides his in the water below him. The image was blurry, but he knew who it was. Calling out, he shouted the image's name. "Sora!"

ooooooo

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Kingdom Hearts storyline nor any of the worlds involved.


End file.
